


Having Lived in Shadow

by Polar534



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2019-07-08 20:06:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 20,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15937352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Polar534/pseuds/Polar534
Summary: After the Shadow War, Webby believes her best friend is dead, but due to the unexplained and ever complicated, confusing magic in their world, she's not. So what happens next? After living in constant fear since the day she started to realize who she really was, Lena is finally free. She has a real home, promises that no one will ever hurt her, she has a family and a best friend who somehow despite everything still believes in her.But can she ever really feel comfortable in a world that feels so upside down?





	1. Prologue: Sunlight

In the quiet morning following the Shadow War as the first bits of light started to shine once again from the sun that rose in the distance, there was another source of light shining almost as brightly. In an abandoned amphitheater, still shadowed from the sun's rays, a blue glow burned brightly into the shape of a young duck. 

As she materialized, the last slivers of the blue glow disappearing into the air around her, the duck shivered unconsciously. The morning fall breeze was not to be stopped by her casual blue collared button-up, and grey and black striped overshirt. As she woke, memories flooded back. Her best friend, saying she still believed in her even as she was helplessly trapped against a pile of gold. Memories of a spell she was going to cast… one that would kill her and the blue dressed duck that huddled on the ground next to her. Then the memories of the pain came back…

She shouldn't be alive.

***

Earlier that night and across town, billionaire Scrooge Mcduck and Bentina Beakly were trying their best to corral their group of young children and adult children alike back into the manor and back to their homes or labs. It was going about as well as one would think. After such a battle, everyone's nerves were shot and the only way to keep from breaking down in fear or relief was to keep going with the idea that against all odds, they had actually won. However both Scrooge and Beakly knew from experience that nothing was ever over that easily. Fenton Crackshell, still in the Gizmo Duck suit was the first one to leave, claiming, albeit nervously, that he had to help the rest of the townsfolk that may have been iinjured in the fight. Gyro was the next to go, grumbling something about needing both Manny and Lil Bulb to do some serious work down in his lab. Donald, Launchpad and Beakly left next, going to find some sort of vehicle for Launchpad to drive home… and then inevitably crash. That left Scrooge with his great nephews and Webbigail. 

After splashing around in what remained of his money pit, Dewey, Huey and Louie were all understandably worn out, and Scrooge knew it wasn't just from the swimming. However his attention caught and stuck to Webby who seemed past exhaustion, as she followed the boys around unnaturally quiet and still. The only movement Scrooge could detect besides her walking was the way she fidgeted with a colorful bracelet around her wrist. _Her friendship bracelet._ A knot formed in Scrooge's throat. Although stuck in the dime, he remembered hearing everything that transpired. How Lena had saved her… and how she had been painfully destroyed because of it. Afraid of even approaching the topic of the loss, he instead suggested everyone needed to go back to the manor and rest, claiming the lie that he was getting to old for adventures and battles such as these. The triplets laughed and followed their uncle out of the bin to the car that Launchpad had found. 

Webby silently followed them, stopping only once to look up from her bracelet and back at the site of the battle. The blast that sent her best friend away hadn't even left a mark. It was like Lena never existed. Maybe it would be better, Webby thought, if she was able to convince herself that was true after all.

***

The kids were all so fast asleep in the backseat of the car that none of them even stirred as Launchpad ricocheted off a lightpost straight into the manor's garage. Donald looked back and sighed contently at the sight of all of them looking so peaceful. As soon as he left the car, he opened the back door of the car, and grabbed Louie who was the closest to the door as Beakly scooped up Huey, Dewey and Webby. Deciding it was probably going to be too jarring for them all to wake up in their rooms, they laid them all out on a couch in the large entryway. Donald gave his boys each a kiss of the head and ruffled Webby's headfeathers before giving out a loud yawn and an even louder grumble as he realized his bed on the houseboat was ruined. He glared at Beakly as he left to go find a spare room. Scrooge stood there, looking happily at the family he had almost lost as the housekeeper went to go find a blanket. He was almost too lost in his thoughts to realize that the bracelet that Webby was clutching onto so tightly had begun to glow a bright, blinding blue. Sensing magic, he clutched at the dime he had back around his neck, and after awhile of it glowing it eventually faded once more to be replaced by the first rays of the morning sun as they shone through the large mansion's many windows. Scrooge began to wonder. Magica's aura was a dark purple. He knew it hadn't been her but if that was really the case, why had the glow seemed so familiar?

Thinking hard, Scrooge remembered the bright blue flash that had emitted from the Money Shark months ago as it was blasted apart. He remembered the way Lena had been frightfully holding onto Webby as his hard earned gold fell around them. Back then he thought it was a simple trick of the light and chastised himself for being so oblivious. 

_Lena had been glowing bright blue._


	2. Chapter 1: Sealing a Deal

Scrooge Mcduck had been alive long enough to know that such things as miracles actually existed, and while they had to be earned, he knew of one young duck who had done more than her fair share of suffering. A friendship bracelet always came with a partner and he hoped desperately that the connection he theorized his young niece and her friend shared could be strong enough to become a token. A token not unlike his dime, one that could resurrect someone who had thought to be banished for good. Clinging to that hope he quietly called Mrs. Beakly back. She materialized behind him carrying a large throw blanket that she gently laid on the bundle of children.

"Beakly, I need to know where Lena lives, do you have any ideas as to where that might be?"

If she was alarmed by this question, the trained spy did not show it. Instead she gently kissed the top of Webby's head and left the entryway, heading up the stairs. Scrooge had no other choice then to follow her.

Eventually after walking down the bedroom corridor she stopped in front of Webby's room and faced him.

"Webby has always done research into the people she cares about. Her history on you and your family is quite extensive. I might not know where the girl lived, but if anyone does it would be Webby."

Scrooge nodded, "You're right Beakly and I thank you for the idea, but if that was all you wanted to say you would have let me past you by now. So out with it please. I fear I may only have a bit of time."

"Scrooge McDuck, my granddaughter just lost her best friend in the entire world. It will take her a very long time to overcome this kind've grief she has never dealt with before-"

Scrooge impatiently waved his hand as he interrupted her. "Relax Beakly, if I'm right about this the girl won't ever have to even miss her friend."

The house keeper's eyes flashed in anger. "If you are right." She said pointedly. "If you are not however you would be giving both my granddaughter and the boy's a sense of false hope that could crush them even more. This isn't Della, Scrooge. This isn't adults we are dealing with. They're children. If whatever you're chasing after tonight proves to be a dead end… I must ask that you drop it. Let the kids mourn in peace instead of diving into a new adventure without any treasure to be found."

The hallway fell painfully quiet for a minute, with both adults staring at each other. Neither giving an inch to the other until the old duck finally released his iron grip on his cane and sighed.

"You're right. I just hope for their sakes and Lena's, that I am also right. I give you my word, that if I am unable to find the lass by tonight, I will drop it and just try my best to be there for them."

Beakly also relaxed as she nodded her thanks and then opened the door to her granddaughters room. Walking over to her board on the Mcduck family, they both looked at each other with a grin as Scrooge used his cane to hook the board and turn it over revealing the other side. The note on the top read in one large bold word, **_Lena_** , and underneath was a childlike drawing of the young duck with the saying, **"My Best Friend"** under it. There wasn't a lot of information and the board was almost scarily blank. However there were two connecting notes on it. One was a picture of the old amphitheater with a poster of one of the plays that had been performed there taped to it. The question, _Lena's Home? _, was written under it sloppily. The other thing on the board was another drawing. This time, it was of a duck's arm. On the elbow there was a large scratch surrounded by a very nasty looking bruise. The striped pattern of the duck's shirt gave away her identity and under this one there was another note, this time written down on a scrap of paper that was taped onto the board:__

_July 2nd 2018. Lena was trying to hide her arm from me all day. I finally got a glimpse of her elbow while she wasn't looking and saw this. What does it mean? Why didn't she want me to see it? The pattern of her injury isn't consistent with any sort of fall I've seen. It almost looks like it was caused by a weapon of some sort._

_Is this why she was gone for weeks?_

**I hope she's ok…**

Scrooge cringed slightly. His heart that had been so full of hope was suddenly pierced by guilt. Webby was so innocent, but he was not. He should've noticed something was wrong with Lena months ago, when she would spend days over at the manor and then suddenly disappear for days longer only to reappear even more tired and sullen then when they had all last saw her. He let out a low growl, she was only a child, but he knew how cruel Magica could be. If he was right, and the glow of Webby's bracelet indicated a change in Lena's then he had to find her soon. He had to keep her safe. He owed at least that much to her. 

 

Beakly quietly pointed to the picture of the amphitheater, making a point to ignore the only other picture on the board. "Here." She said, keeping her emotions under check. 

"Whenever Webby talks about meeting up with Lena she says something about an amphitheater and Lena always seemed to head to that side of town when she would leave from the manor."

"Excellent. Please stay here with the kids, I'm taking Launchpad to the theater." Scrooge said, nearly running out of the door, leaving Beakly behind in the dark room.

__In the silence he left behind you could hear the audible crack of knuckles as Mrs. Beakly clenched her fists tightly. She was staring at the drawing of Lena's injured arm and had it not been so dark, with the curtains drawn over the windows, one could've sworn they could see a tear running down her cheek._ _

__***_ _

__Lena lay as still as she possibly could. She was faintly aware of the cold floor of wherever she had woken up, but she found herself so afraid of it all being torn away from her once again that she couldn’t bring herself to move a muscle. That was until she heard the pair of footsteps approaching from behind her. Moving on instinct she curled into a ball without even a second thought. It was all just a dream after all. Another day had passed and she didn't have the dime._ _

__She was prepared for this._ _

__She wasn't, however, prepared for a familiar voice to say her name in a unfamiliar almost… worried way._ _

__"Lena?" Scrooge McDuck called out to the shape laying in the middle of the amphitheater floor._ _

__Lena automatically flinched. It was even worse._ _

__"Lass," He said, closer behind her now. He sounded… angry. "Get up."_ _

__Lena obeyed, uncurling herself, but her muscles still bound tight, waiting for what was inevitably coming next. She sat upright and stared at the older duck as he approached. Still in the shadows his expression was impossible to read. She steeled her gaze and tried looking braver then she felt. She deserved this. The least she could do for Scrooge after everything she's done is face it head on._ _

__Scrooge finally broached the sunlight that was now slightly higher in the sky and his expression became clear, even if it was confusing to Lena. He looked concerned. He was walking towards her slowly, as if approaching a wild scared animal._ _

__It was almost worse then what Lena had expected. Her head fell as she spoke, "I'm sorry sir. I'm so… sorry."_ _

__His cold laughter shocked her out of her stupor. "Sorry? For what reason do you have to be sorry my dear girl?" He said, gently reaching out to lift Lena's chin. Fighting back a flinch she looked into his eyes and saw something resembling regret. It sent a shiver down her spine. Something was seriously wrong._ _

__"I'm not going to hurt you, I swear." He said gently, offering her his hand to help her up._ _

__Lena took it without speaking, numbly going along with him out of the amphitheater. Whatever life had planned for her this time, it sure was taking longer then she was used to and that made her nervous. Climbing into a long black limo, she nodded to Launchpad as he excitedly greeted her. Scrooge frowned slightly, although the girl didn't notice it. Lena had been unconsciously trying to melt into the seat, staring intently out the window._ _

__This was going to be a long hard adventure into new territory for them both._ _

__***_ _

__Lena had plenty of practice practically letting her mind leave her body for short periods of time. It came in handy quite often when dealing with Magica and her… punishments. Without realizing it she had arrived at the mansion, went through the garage and up a long staircase before she found herself in Scrooge's office with a cup of tea in her hands. She didn't remember a thing from the car ride and that scared her. She was supposed to be watching. She needed to know what would happen to her now. She tensely set the cup down as if it was filled with poison and shuddered imperceptibly as the thought crossed her mind. Glancing around she couldn't see Scrooge and the room was dark due to the curtains being drawn over the window. The only light came from a small lamp that cast a shadow to the wall behind her. Needless to say, it made her very nervous. She was about to get up and bolt when the door opened to her left and in swept Scrooge, dressed up once again as if going on a grand adventure. He was speaking to Mrs. Beakly about something and dismissed her before entering the room. Smiling warmly at Lena he went over to the window and opened the curtains, banishing the dark shadows from the room._ _

__"Lena," He said, suddenly serious. Sitting down, he crossed his fingers under his chin and fixed her with a hard stare._ _

__"It's about time we talked."_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized as I posted the prologue or whatever I called it, it was painfully short. This chapter isn't much better, but I can't expect many people to get into a story with what like, 4 paragraphs full of random summaries? I have a touch for the dramatic though and I really liked just ending it with "She was glowing blueeeeee" As if it was like a spooky premonition. xD
> 
> Anyways, I swear this story is about Lena. I mean, it's not like I've only covered her about 3 times, and she's only spoke once riiiggghhhttt? Heh. Imma go now. I have work in about 3 hours and I've gotten no sleep. Stupid, adorable, hurt ducks who need hugs. Why must I write about you?
> 
> Also fun fact. JAW$ was realized on June 16 2018. ;D


	3. Chapter 2: Growing Fear

Lena shrunk against the chair. Although the light shined bright from the window she suddenly wanted to go back into the shadows. At least they were consistent.

"What's there to talk about?" She grumbled, avoiding his eyes.

Scrooge tilted his head and Lena bit back her frustration. What was with this game? Scrooge knew what she did, what she was. Why didn’t he just get it over with?

"I betrayed you!" She said angrily, trying to her best to keep her tone steady. She took a deep breath and tried again.

"I betrayed you by using your own family. I delivered Magica straight to your door and let her almost destroy everyone. I'm bad. That's all there is to say and you know it." She finished, staring fixedly at a particular spot on his desk. 

Scrooge barely waited for her to finish before the hands he had crossed under his chin slammed against the desk causing Lena to nearly jump out of the chair. Over the ruckus Scrooge caused, he swore he could hear her let out a whimper.

"That'll be far enough of that, lass!" He retorted angrily. He looked up at the young duck sitting across from him and took in the sight of her cowering. She was trying to remain stoic but between her avoiding his gaze and the imperceptible way she was shivering he knew she was terrified. 

He had messed up again. 

Taking a deep breath he tried to calm himself and try a different tactic.

"Do you know how long I spent chasing after Magica?" He said gently, standing up from his chair slowly. He didn't want to risk scaring the girl even more. He started to pace as he continued, knowing that Lena would not answer.

"I spent years, barely trailing behind in the wake of her evil. Only ever losing sight of her to help those she destroyed in her wake. I've seen how cruel she can be to people who just happened to be in her way." He stopped and stared directly at Lena who still wouldn't meet his eyes.

"I don't want to imagine the pain she put you through to get what she wanted." He said softly. 

Lena finally looked at Scrooge. Really looked at him. Behind the anger in his eyes she had seen just moments ago, there was guilt. A sense of responsibility. He was just as lost as to what to do as she was, but Lena was lost to the clear way he genuinely wanted to make it up to her. She didn't just not believe it, she couldn't. She had never seen anyone but Webby treat her with such kindness, much less… in a parental way. 

"Not to mention you are about the fiercest and most stubborn young duck I know. I know you went out of your way to stop her on more then one occasion. Whether you knew you were doing it or not, you had to have known what the punishment would be for you actions. And yet, you did it anyways. You never used my family for anything. You went out of your way to protect them. For that, Lena, you have my deepest gratitude." He said, eyes sparkling, giving Lena a slight bow of respect.

Lena didn't mean to let his words wash through her, but they did anyways. She couldn't feel them stick. The walls she had created to protect herself through all those years of torment didn't allow them to. Instead, she adopted her usual tactic of being casual in an attempt to salvage his attempt and feelings.

"You don't have to make it sound so grand… I was just doing what I thought felt right." 

Scrooge let out a hearty laugh at the young duck's humbleness, before growing serious once more. He sat down at the table again.

"I made a deal with you lass. You got my family back, and protected them from Magica at the cost of yourself. As far as I'm concerned you were family from the first moment my grand niece became smitten with the thought of you. However it's time I started treating you like it."

Lena gulped. She didn't want to think about Webby. So she tried to ignore the sting in her heart when he brought up her best friend and simply nodded, hoping he would just continue.

"Do you know why I brought you to the manor Lena?" He asked her.

Lena shook her head. She still couldn't shake the feeling that she woke up with, that something was wrong. She was just waiting for it to all be taken away.

"Magica is still out there Lena. We didn't kill her. Her powers were stripped but I have a feeling it will only be a short while before she's back. I want you to stay in the mansion. We will keep you safe until I finally deal with her once and for all."

Lena's heart dropped out of her chest. She was right. In an instant she had bolted upright from the chair and stood above Scrooge.

"Keep me safe?! What are you talking about? As long as I'm here you're all in even more danger!" She yelled. Her mouth was moving faster then her mind, but she couldn't think. There was just too much to process. How could Scrooge put Webby in danger by keeping her here?!

It was Lena's turn to pace, as it was the only thing keeping her from acting on her instinct to run as far away from here as possible. Somewhere no one could find her, Magica or Scrooge. 

"Lena, I said we could keep you safe." Scrooge replied calmly. 

He was so sure of himself! Lena wanted to scream! How many times had Magica been right under his nose and he didn't even blink! He couldn't keep himself safe, how could he keep his family safe?!

"What about Webby? Magica blames her almost as much as she does me or you! She's not going to rest until we all have suffered! Why make it easier for her to get us all in one place?!" She continued, determined to make the old fool see some sense.

Scrooge rose slowly from his chair, before he answered.

"Lass... I was oblivious and stupid before. I should have put two and two together and figured out what was really happening to you. I let my family be put into danger, and what's worse is you were the only one to suffer for my ignorance." He said calmly. Looking right into Lena's fiery eyes with genuine regret she found she couldn't stay mad at him.

"Please, just give me a chance to make it up to you." He asked sincerely.

Lena heard Magica's voice chastise her as she found herself believing in him. _Sentimental fool._

"Alright." She said, taking a deep breath. "Alright, I'll stay." She confirmed as she finally felt herself relax for the first time all morning. 

Scrooge beamed at her. "Excellent! I'll call Beakly to escort you down to the kitchen, everyone should be waking up about now and I bet you are a might bit starving."

Lena winced as the door Scrooge entered opened once more and Mrs. Beakly stood solemnly in the doorway.

"Crumpets." Lena said stiffly, attempting the only greeting she knew. Turns out Mrs. Beakly was right about her all along.

"Lena." She replied. "I made pancakes this morning."

Lena opened her mouth to ask her very important question as to what pancakes she meant, but before the words came out Mrs. Beakly let out a small smile. "And no, they are not the English muffins covered in maple syrup."

Lena gave her a small smile back and turned back and nodded to Scrooge before following Beakly towards the door. 

"Lass, there is one more thing I need to mention." He said, before they both exited. Lena looked back and saw a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"I haven't yet told Webby that you're here… and well, alive." He said as he started to close the door on the two of them.

"Have fun at breakfast!" The Scotts duck said cheerfully as the door closed in front of them with a hard thump.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2, otherwise known as the dammit Lena just accept the kindness will you?! Or Lena needs a hug. But maybe not right now cause she's a bit on edge. Or maybe even, The finally about Lena chapter!
> 
> Like the cliffhanger? I don't. Cause I don't have the rest written yet and I'm constantly afraid I will stop updating this and leave it to die like the rest of my works. But hey, we address some things in this chapter! Magica is still very much a threat you guys and I wouldn't just let my Lena girl have her happy ending that easily. 
> 
> Also Scrooge does not want to deal with those girl issues. Not up his aisle. Heckles he is already waaaay out of his comfort zone after all.


	4. Chapter 3: The Truth

Both Lena and Beakly stood there for second in shocked silence before the housekeeper turned and started to walk down the hallway. Lena stood there for a second longer.

"Seriously?!" She asked angrily to the closed door. 

Receiving no answer she turned to hurry after Beakly. Lena had to almost run to catch up, but still the housekeeper said nothing. Deciding to try and break the tension and nerves she had in her stomach, Lena attempted small talk.

"I suppose there's no way I can convince you to let me skip breakfast now, eh Crumpets?"

Still nothing. A knot began to grow in Lena's stomach. She didn't think she could eat even if she had to. Yet still she tried again.

"I mean, I know why Scrooge brought me here. One less factor to worry about in his witch hunt, so no point in getting everyone worked up over little ole me." 

The ex-spy stopped abruptly in her tracks before turning to face Lena, almost towering over her.

"Do you really believe that?" Beakly asked, completely serious, catching Lena off guard. She stared hard at the younger duck, causing Lena to turn her head away to avoid her eyes.

" _I_ believe my friends will be ecstatic to know that they are sharing the manor with someone almost got them killed multiple times without ever telling them the truth." Lena pushed out past the knot in her throat, managing to hold onto her sarcastic wit. 

"The truth, Lena." Beakly said, appearing even more menacing as she remained in place, not moving a muscle. The knot twisted in her throat as Lena realized she couldn't speak.

"You're afraid of what Webby will think of you now." Beakly answered for her. Looking up, Lena saw that the housekeepers face had softened. There was a sad smile on it now.

"It's not just that." Lena said quietly, finding her voice again. As the words found their way out though, she found she couldn't stop them.

"Webby thinks I'm dead. She must be relieved. She doesn't have to even worry about me now, much less decide if she hates me or not… I can't hurt her anymore if I'm dead." She said, the determination in her voice only slipping a little.

Mrs. Beakly let out a large sigh before kneeling down to be on eye level with Lena. "Lena, look at me. No matter if Webby decides to hate you or not, you owe it to both yourself and my granddaughter to let her know you're ok."

"Ok is a bit of an overstatement." Lena said, her sarcastic defense rebuilding itself. 

The housekeeper sighed again, this time in exasperation, and brought herself to her feet.

"I'll take that as a yes." She said dryly as she resumed walking.

Lena shrugged as she hurried after her. The silence between them no longer gnawing at her, Lena's thoughts turned to what she would even say to Webby, to the triplets. Groaning, she didn't get far past "Sup," before Beakly opened the double doors into the kitchen. Panicking, Lena ducked behind her. Glancing around she saw the triplets, Donald and Webby all sitting in a little table in the corner. Dewey, Huey and Donald all looked up in surprise while Louie snatched some pancakes from Huey's plate and Webby continued to stare down at her food. Before Lena could decipher the emotion on her best friend's face, her thoughts were interrupted by Beakly clearing her throat very loudly. 

"Donald Duck. Are you eating pancakes on my fancy plate?" She said, her tone even but no less intimidating. 

Donald looked down in panic at the silver bejelewed plate his pancakes were sitting on, before looking back up angrily. "So what if it is? I _would_ be eating in my houseboat if _someone_ hadn't blown it up."

"Irrelevant. You know those plates are only to be used for important occasions."

"This is important, I'm mourning the loss of my house!!" Donald said, angrily slamming his fist into the table, catching the very edge of the plate in question, flipping it off the table and sending it smashing onto the floor. 

The entire room stood or sat in silence, looking at the glistening broken parts of the plate. 

"Dibs on the jewels!" Louie and Dewey said together as they jumped up from the table at the same time, bumping into each other and eventually falling back into their seats. But Beakly's gaze was only for Donald. Panicking, he pointed behind her, "Hey look! Another broken priceless plate!" He said quickly before bolting out of the room. 

"Kids, watch out for the broken glass until I get back." Mrs. Beakly said calmly before following angrily after where Donald had run.

All 4 pairs of eyes followed the two out of the room until they eventually all landed on Lena. It was too late to run. They had all seen her. 

"Any chance the whole, hey look another broken plate thing would work on you guys?" She said nervously unable to actually move.

She watched as the shock spread on the triplets face. Webby eyes widened as she really looked at the person in front of her, her somber expression never changing. 

Then, three pairs of eyes left Lena and looked worriedly to Webby, who never looked away. She eventually stood up and walked towards her best friend as all three triplets scrambled to stand behind her. Lena didn't know what to do as Webby approached. Terrified of what she would do, she closed her eyes and hoped it would be over soon.

It felt like hours before she felt a small hand touch her stomach. Opening her eyes she saw Webby, face entirely unchanged staring down at her hand which was gently pressed against her stomach. Suddenly Webby's head looked up and they met eyes. Lena saw the tears she was holding back though. 

"You're... you're really here." Webby said quietly. Suddenly she jerked her hand back and started backing up almost fearfully. 

Lena's heart lurched as her best friend turned and ran out the room. 

***

"Well... that was awkward." Louie said casually putting his hands into his hoodie pocket.

Lena felt her knees give out and she fell to the floor onto them as Huey glared at his brother and Dewey reached over and smacked him on the back of his head.

"Come on man." Dewey said, walking over with Huey towards Lena. 

"Ignore him, he's just uncultured is all." Huey said, holding out his hand to Lena. She took it numbly as he helped her to her feet once more before standing back and examining her. 

"Fascinating, it seems you're both alive and physical again. How on earth did you manage that?" He said, bewildered and taking out his notebook from under his hat to start writing down notes.

"Oh, yeah, call me uncultured why you just casually mention that she should be dead." Huey grumbled as he walked back over to the table and sat down once again.

"Ignore them both. It's what I do." Dewey said with a wink as he guided Huey back to the table, his beak still stuck in his Junior Woodchuck Manual. Louie looked up at Lena who was still as a statue, staring emptily in the direction Webby had ran. 

"Well, are you going to come and eat with us or what?" He asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been pretty down as of late so I wanted to write some fluff but realized my story isn't quite ready for fluff yet. So I apologize if this chapter is pretty bad. I know it's mostly alot of nothing. More so then previous chapters but I kinda had to just get it out before we hit the better parts.
> 
> Also, yeah, no... Webby isn't quite as ready as some of you were to see Lena again. 
> 
> The triplets on the other hand, don't seem to mind as much.
> 
> Remind me to never write or create a story with so many characters in a room at once. Gosh it's all a bunch of she said, he said when you do that. Works for television but as a pretty crappy writer myself I can't make it work well at all. In fact, my head hurts just trying to knock this chapter out. The good news is I'll just have to cover 4 of them for the next chapter... 
> 
> ;w;


	5. Chapter 4: Pancakes

Lena shook herself out of her stupor. She deserved this, but that didn't help the pain she felt in her heart. It didn't change the fact that Webby didn't deserve this. She clung to that idea to find her voice again.

"Um, any of you going to go after her?" She asked the triplets accusingly.

They all looked up from whatever they were doing and looked towards the door.

"Webby? She'll be fine." Huey said matter of factly.

"Fine?! I don't know if you saw what I did, but she definitely wasn't fine. Aren't you guys like her brothers or cousins or something?"

The triplets looked at each other once again before guilt settled over their faces. Louie elbowed Dewey.

"Lena, we are worried about her too. She's been so quiet since you… you know, disappeared. But we found out after the whole Della thing that some people have different ways of dealing with grief. If Webby needed us she would've told us." He said, looking down at his plate. 

Lena wanted to believe him, but the memory of Webby's tears, and the way she looked at her was all too fresh. Swallowing hard she nodded and pulled up a seat. Louie grinned at her as he passed her a plate full of Huey's stolen pancakes. Instead of touching them, she simply stared down at them. Dewey and Louie looked at each other as the rebellious girl they had all grown attached to simply sat there, almost lifeless. She absolutely loved Beakly's pancakes, even if she would never admit it. Louie smirked as an idea crossed his mind. Gesturing to his brother to follow his lead, he dropped his silverware and simply stared intently at Lena.

After only a few seconds of them staring at her, she looked up annoyed.

"What?" She said, narrowing her eyes at them. She was used to the boy's antics by now, and she wasn't really in the mood to be roped into one of their schemes.

"Oh nothing," Louie said casually, looking around the room, before fixing her once again with accusing eyes. "I just want to know if shadows can actually eat."

"Really?! You've seen me eat before." She retorted.

It was Dewey's turn to pick it up. "Yes, but we never really watched you back then. How do we know if you actually ate the food, or just chewed it up and spit it out while we weren't looking?" He said matter of factly. 

Lena was at a loss, she knew the triplets might be suspicious of her after everything that happened, but about food? She didn't know if they were joking or not, but either way it was absurd to say the least. 

"First of all, ew. Second of all where would I even spit out all the food? On the floor? You would still see it!"

Huey finally looked up again from his Woodchuck Manual and answered for her. "I don't know, you had magical properties tied to you back then, who's to say the magic didn't affect the food." Before jotting down something else in his notebook.

Lena's face hit the table as she let out a muffled groan. She was quickly losing traction of this conversation. Raising her head again, she pointedly lifted up her fork with a piece of pancake on it and shoved it in her mouth. Making a point to exaggerate her chewing she swallowed and set the fork down once again with a look of triumph. Crossing her arms she smirked. 

"Happy?" She asked to the two who were still looking at her suspiciously.

"Mhmm… for now." Louie said while Dewey hid a smile as Lena once again picked up her fork and began to eat normally as she rolled her eyes.

They finished their breakfast in comfortable silence occasionally interrupted by a shout of alarm from Donald somewhere in the mansion as Beakly chased after him. Lena finished last, having to eat slow in an attempt to keep her stomach calmed, and when she finally put down her fork she noticed the triplets once again staring at her.

"Oh great, what now?" She asked them grumpily, expecting them to be watching her to see if she puked it all up or something silly like that.

This time, it was Huey who initiated it. "I… well, _we_ want to know more. About Magicka."

Just her name nearly knocked the wind out of Lena. She gulped, but recovered fast. "Well you could ask Scrooge. He's spent just about as long as I have with her."

Huey continued as his brothers looked at him. "No… we want to know more about your relationship with her." 

Seeing Lena's fearful reaction, Dewey quickly stepped in to clarify a bit. "He means, we know you weren't just a puppet of Magicka. Otherwise you wouldn't have protected me and Webby." 

"Or always waited with Uncle Donald for us to get back from our adventures." Louie added.

Feeling a bit more confident and seeing Lena relax ever so slightly, Huey picked up again. "Yeah, you were always helping Louie with his schemes, or me get my Woodchuck badges."

"Not to mention you were always with Webby and me when we were doing research on Mom." Dewey added quietly.

Lena sighed. It was bound to happen eventually, and of course they only remembered the good parts. "You guys want the truth." She said sadly, looking down at her plate, suddenly wishing she hadn't just ate. "I suppose I do owe you that at least."

Louie's eyes sparkled. "Story time." He said quietly.

The rest of the kids looked at him questionably.

"Storytime!!" He yelled excitably as he jumped up from the table and grabbed his brothers.

"If you're going to tell a story like yours, then you need to do it in the right environment!" He continued, grabbing all the plates and putting them in the sink.

Lena and Huey both frowned. Louie must be excited if he was actually cleaning up after himself. Dewey however caught on to his brother's excitement. 

"The study!" He exclaimed as he helped his brother shovel all the dishes away. When they all finished they dashed out of the hallway. 

"Come on!" Their voices trailed as they disappeared down the hallway. Huey shrugged and offered his hand once again to Lena. 

"Ready to get this over with?" He asked sympathetically. 

Lena took it and stood up as she followed him out of the kitchen.

"Not really." She said under her breath.

***

Webby found she was having trouble breathing. In her stomach there was a brick just sitting there making her feel sick. She had managed to make it to her bedroom and close the door before she collapsed onto the ground with her knees against her chest. She knew the symptoms of panic and they raced around in her mind. It wasn't an attack, but she knew if she didn't get her breathing under control soon, it could develop into one. Standing up shakily she started to pace. Movement would open up her lungs, and help her breathe. 

The brick continued to sit in her stomach but the pressure on her chest slowly started to disappear. Once she felt marginally better she took a deep breath and fell backwards onto her bed with a sigh, her thoughts syncing up with the clock she kept by her bed.

_Tick._   
Lena was back.

_Tock_  
But that wasn't right. Lena was dead.

_Tick_  
She was Magicka's pawn. Lena and Magicka had used her and she was stupid enough to fall for it.

Anger gripped her body as the final thought crossed her mind. She grabbed the clock next to her bed and threw it against the wall, killing the noise it was making.

If that was really true. If Lena had really used her… why didn't it feel like it? Why was it that every time the idea of Lena crossed her mind, she only felt sad? She remembered the absolute heartbreak on Lena's face when she had run away. It burned in her mind. Webby didn't mean to run away. She had always been on the fight side of flight or fight, but seeing Lena was like seeing a ghost. It wasn't the fun kind of ghosts either, it was an emotional kind of ghost. Just yesterday Webby had felt like it would be better to forget Lena even existed then deal with… whatever had actually happened. Deep down she knew there was more to it then the journal she had found in Lena's little hideaway, but the words still stung. They made sense and lined up with so many questions she had about her own best friend.

For once though, she didn't want to know more. She didn't want any more answers. All Webby wanted to do was stay in her room and ignore everything and everyone. She could do that, right? 

Resolving into that idea she realized it might be more trouble then she originally thought, when her door opened once more and closed with a hard thump. Rolling over she looked over the edge of her loft and saw Donald Duck collapsed against her door breathing hard. 

"Crazy old bird, she's going to get me killed..." He grumbled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man I'm tired. I meant to knock this one out over the weekend but instead I drank a whole bunch of pineapple flavored pop and didn't realize it until I had a super bad allergic reaction. I survived but man I was loopy. I decided to get some sleep and save this for when I was feeling better.
> 
> Which was probably for the best. This chapter turned out about as well as I thought it would. Not the best but also not the worst. As it is more filler I'm sorta proud of how it turned out. I think my favorite part is the triplets scheming to make Lena eat. It's simple, but also meaningful. We finally get some fluff with the triplets caring for Lena and check in with both Donald and Webby. 
> 
> The next chapter is going to be pretty exciting. We are finally going to learn about Lena's past and we'll of course deal with Webby's conflicts a little bit more as well. I'd say we are maybe about the halfway point in this story maybe just a little before halfway, just to give ya some idea of how much is left. I think this should be the last of what I consider to be filler before we get into the actual meat of whatever I'm doing here.


	6. Chapter 5: Not the Same

The triplets raced around the corner of the study with Lena in tow and immediately took their places on the couch sitting by an ancient oak chair. Lena had to give it to them, it was a great place to tell a story. Just maybe not hers. Instead she chose to make herself comfortable leaning against a nearby desk. Before she even got a chance to open her mouth a white and blue blur streaked past the entry way to the study, gaining the attention of everyone in the room with an almost otherworldly shriek. None of the kids had any doubt that it was Donald, running from the still angry housekeeper, but their suspicions were confirmed when said blur reappeared once more in the doorway, this time looking directly at Lena.

A large grin broke out on Donald's face. 

"Lena, you're here! Why didn't anyone tell me?!" He said, angrily glaring at the triplets who simply shrugged as a response. 

Lena looked at their uncle with confusion. He was somehow more excited then anyone to see her, and it didn't make sense. Sure she had spent some time with him, waiting for her friends to get back from their adventures, but in her mind that didn't make her anything special. She had always just felt like a nuisance. Hell, she didn't even bother trying to understand him in the beginning. 

Donald's eyes softened to something more of affection then excitement, "I'm really glad you're alright." He said with a smile.

Lena felt compelled to return it, albeit sheepishly. The little moment was soon interrupted as they all heard Beakly's footsteps barreling down the hallway. Donald gave a little squeak.

"And I'm not going to be alright if I stick around here!" He yelped as he disappeared from the doorway once more. 

All the kids could do was look at each other. Louie was the first to speak.

"Do you think we should help him?" He asked uncertainly.

"And risk peeving off Beakly, no way. I like being alive thank you very much." Louie answered, the very thought of angering Beakly making them all shiver.

***

As he left the study, Donald ran panicked down the hallways of the manor trying his best to remember the layout and not bump into anything that would give away his position. However, as the universe never lets him forget, he is Donald Duck and anything that could go wrong will go wrong. He slipped on one of Scrooge's fancy rugs and flew head first into a small end table completely shattering the vase that sat upon it. The impact of his crash caused a painting on the wall above the vase to unhook itself from the wall and fall precisely onto Donald's tailfeathers. Groaning in pain, he jumped to his feet and realized with a groan that the canvas had split in its fall and had become attached to his rear. It took longer then he would like to admit to finally unhook his behind from the painting and as he grinned in triumph at it he noticed through the hole his buttocks had made a red faced Beakly panting from rage.

"That. Painting. Was. An. Original!!" She yelled as she charged at him. Forgetting the painting and incident with his tush, he flung the broken visage at her and the chase began again. Once finally out of sight of Beakly, Donald dashed into the nearest room he could find and closed the door behind him with a solid thud.

"Crazy old bird, she's going to get me killed…" He grumbled as he collapsed against the door panting hard. Once his breath finally caught up to him he looked up to see Webby's tear stained face looking down at him before disappearing with a frustrated groan.

"I mean, your grandmother is a lovely lady." He said quickly standing up. Angering Webby could mean even more trouble then angering her grandmother. When she didn't appear again Donald got a touch worried. He started up the ladder leading to her loft and was startled by the sight he saw. 

Webby had tucked herself into a small ball, her head down resting on her knees as a small lamp barely illuminated the cramped space. 

"Go away Donald… please." She said quietly, her voice cracking a bit revealing the true state of her emotions.

Donald let out a small "oh…" as the realization hit him. Lena. Of course. He finished climbing up the ladder and sat next to Webby as her shoulders began to shake. Uncertain of what to do next he began to whistling an old sailors chanty quietly. It was a light and airy tune that was transformed into a somewhat spooky echo as it bounced off the walls in the tiny area. Eventually Webby stopped shaking and stilled as Donald stopped whistling. Seeing as she wasn't about to open up, Donald took it upon himself to try and start a conversation.

"Are you mad at her?" He asked looking at the young duck. 

Webby's reaction was immediate. She lifted her head and Donald could see the remnants of tears in her eyes.

"Yes!! I mean, no, of course not. But… maybe? Urgh. I don't know." She said in a frustrated rush as she let her head fall back onto her knees with a soft thud. 

Donald sat there quiet for a moment as he tried to find the right words to say. He briefly wondered what Scrooge or Beakly would say before giving up. Instead, he just went off of what he knew.

"You know, when Della took off in the Spear I was mad too." He told her. He sighed, closing his eyes and trying to reconnect with the emotions of that day. 

"I mean, how could she just leave with the triplets on the way? She was so excited about them too. And then… she just left. Vanished into the stupid sky. When Scrooge told me she was gone, I stormed out with the boys. I guess… I just let that anger take over how sad I was that she was really gone." He said slowly, his normal optimistic voice and quack becoming clear enough that Webby could hear the regret in his words.

"I let my emotions keep me away from Scrooge. Even if he was all that remained of Della, besides the boys." Donald finished, opening his eyes to see Webby looking at him with large eyes. 

"What would you do… if Della returned today?" She asked him.

Donald wasn't really taken aback by the question, but it did make him think. 

"I wouldn't know." He answered with an apologetic smile. Webby's face fell and Donald could tell she was looking for some sort of answer in his ramblings.

"But I'm also not you. And Lena isn't Della. This isn’t really the same thing, but if you walk away now, in anger or sadness you'll regret it. I know I did." Donald said hanging his head. As he started to stand up Webby tackled him in a crushing hug.

"Thanks Uncle Donald…" She said, slightly muffled by Donald's clothing. Recovering from the shock, he smiled and gently laid a hand on her back. They stayed like that for a short time before once again, Beakly's footsteps sent a shiver down Donald's back. Backing up quickly he fell backwards off the loft with a grunt as a dull voice answered from the hallway. 

"AHA. No place to run now Duck!" Beakly said, her footsteps thundering ever closer. 

Donald looked up at Webby. "Mind if I take the window?" He asked, dashing towards it and opening it up.

Webby nodded silently as Donald quacked out an undecipherable prayer and jumped out the window without a second thought. The door to Webby's room burst open as Beakly noticed the open window. She made her way over to it and looked down to see a small figure running back around the side of the house. Before she gave chase, Beakly turned to her granddaughter.

"At least go eat something." She sighed.

Then, without another word she crossed her arms and gracefully fell backwards out the window after Donald. 

***

Webby sat there for a few minutes. She knew her granny would be alright, and vaguely hoped that Donald's luck didn't run out before Beakly's temper did. After her talk with Donald, she felt only mildly better. Her head had stopped racing with thoughts and at her grandma's reminder she finally noticed just how hungry she was. Sighing, she realized there was no other way out of it. She would have to leave her room and grab what remained of the pancakes. Gulping, she hopped down from her loft and left her room, leaving the door open. Looking up, she realized with a grin that even though she had to go to the kitchen, she knew a shortcut that would guarantee she wouldn't run into anyone on the way there.

Navigating the mansion from the rafters was easy, but what Webby did not account for was the path would take her through the open air study in which all of the brothers Lena were now sitting down in. Their voices drifted up to her as she tried to recover from the paralyzing shock that just seeing Lena put her in.

"Alright well, I don't think Donald will be back anytime soon, so… Lena? You ready?" Huey asked politely, as Webby regained movement. She didn't think she could handle hearing her. It would be still be too soon. 

"Alright, just remember that _you_ asked for this. " Lena said, freezing Webby once again. What was she talking about? Looking over the beam she was perched on, she saw Lena take a deep breath as she began her story…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I lied. But not really! When I said the next chapter would contain Lena's backstory... I uh... didn't account for this scene. Which, shout out to Megaeliz who mentioned wanting Donald to reach out to Lena and how he is such a dad. And while I still want to include some Donald and Lena interaction and fluff, I just don't think it would happen. At least not in the context of this story. We'll see a bit of it, but not much. But he is a dad. And when put in a dad situation he tries his best. I like to think that Donald would relate heavily to Webby here. Imagine how devastated he was when Della left. Someone he trusted just up and left him alone. I don't think Donald was ever really an adventure seeker, but he loved his sister and when she wanted to go explore, he wanted to be right there with her. When she left without a word, it must have felt like finally realizing that maybe she didn't care about him as much as he did her. Then the whole swirl of anger and sadness that must have come in the moment. It would be pretty similar to Webby who discovered her best friend might have based their friendship off a lie and was just using her, only to see her die in front of her. Because of her.
> 
> Anyways, enough of me explaining myself. It's not good writing practice. I should let the audience figure it out using the context clues I provided them... but it's just so good and wholesome and I know you guys would appreciate it.
> 
> The next chapter will be Lena's backstory. And the best part of this whole setup I did with this unplanned chapter is I don't have to dialogue chunk out the next chapter. You'll see what I mean when I post it. (read: When the lazy author who hasn't written it out yet, finally figures it out fully and writes it)
> 
> And yes, I did use 5 different words for butt in the same chapter I bring up Donald's trauma with the loss of his sister. Fun fact, I actually used a thesaurus for those. I'm terrible. I know.


	7. Chapter 6: The Stage is Set

In the dusk of the eclipse the shadows left behind from the last rays of the sun began to gather in the place Magica De Spell had been struck down. Piling ontop of each other, they began to form the shape of a young duck, their power too weak to form anything more. The figure, once fully formed began collecting color from the rays of the sun. It came to be a white duck, wearing the same cloak as Magica had been, still a little too big on her body. She could have easily passed for 15, but her eyes gave away the innocence of new life. A stark contrast to her headfeathers which were tipped in a dark black that shadowed that innocence and gave the rest of her face a haunted look. 

At first, the shadowed creation could only follow the orders from the voice inside her head. Not knowing a purpose outside of her creator, the one who gave her form, she sought out any sort of magical artifact at her creators behest. The voice, although weak, was demanding and impatient and had a trace of panic in it. It told her of the great power it once wielded and would once more with the help of her creation. But it had to be tonight, or both of them would perish by the next sunrise. Together, they made their way down the mountain and into a small town where the voice urged her to inquire about any sort of magic nearby. It was already noon when they were told of the nearby ocean and the mysterious disappearances that were linked to it. It had to be enough.

The journey to the ocean tides wasn't long, but no matter how fast she would move the voice in her head demanded she go faster. The path from the village to the ocean weaved in and out of the country side and they encountered no one travelling to or from making the journey thankfully shorter. Eventually they arrived at the spot the villagers had told them about. A gorgeous white sandy beach stretched on for miles, littered with cold grey stones and driftwood. A little ways down from where they had emerged from the line of trees that bordered the beach there was a large grouping of boulders, the shadows of which formed an intimidating shape in the afternoon sun. The area was known as the Shadow's Maw and it was exactly as the local's described it. A rock formation eerily resembling a large shark. Clambering up the rocks she looked into the shark's 'mouth' to find a large and deep tide pool. It was entirely devoid of life, coral or debris and the shadows from the towering rocks around it cast the bottom in almost complete darkness. 

The shadow creation dove in without hesitation. Her lungs burned almost as much as her eyes as she spent minutes at a time under the water clumsily grasping around in the sand for anything she could find. As the day wore on the sun shifted its position in the sky allowing sunlight to filter directly through a small hole in the rocks the local's would have dubbed the shark's eye, and lit up the pool completely. Luckily for the both of them, the wind was light and the water was still enough that the light fell directly onto a sparkling red gem only partially buried in sand. Ecstatic at the victory and exhausted from the search the creation immediately grabbed at it. When she touched the gem however, the sand that had covered the bottom of the pool parted magically to reveal thousands upon thousands of golden treasures and coins alike. The light reflecting off of all the perfectly polished gold was blinding, almost… entrancing in its beauty. Without thinking, she reached out for the light before her body seized up and practically threw itself out of the pool. She was still wet from her swim and the ocean had worn the rocks around it into a sickenly smooth sheet of ice that left no hope for any traction from her rough transition out of the water. She ended up falling onto the smaller rocks below the structure and laid there, paralyzed for a few moments before the voice of her creator returned. 

It berated her for being a stupid fool and reminded her how lucky it was that her creator still had enough energy to pull her back away from the cursed gold before it was too late. However, her creator was infuriated at having to use what remained of her power to save her useless creation and warned her that time was now running even shorter. They hurried back into town, the poor soul pushing her exhausted and battered body as hard as she could, terrified of going back into the nothingness that she was created from. The sun was setting as she reached the village and they stole away into an abandoned shed on the outskirts of town. The voice guided it's subject through the necessary steps to the ritual that would once again return the voice to the world.

But something went wrong.

Although she had followed the voice's instructions to the T, the ritual did not work as intended. In the darkness of the cabin lit only by a small candle lamp, the small duck watched as her shadow grew and changed into a menacing form with red glowing eyes, reminiscent of the glow of the red gem that had fueled the ceremony. Somehow, the ritual was only able to bring back a shadow of the person Magica once was, literally. An otherworldly scream erupted from the shadow as it realized what it had become. The shadow being once again shivered and grew, this time sprouting long shadowy claws that impossibly stretched out from the wall it was being reflected onto and attacked the one it blamed for this fate. It lashed out again and again, fueled by pure anger. The young duck could only stand there paralyzed, until the pain and brunt of the impacts forced her to her knees and eventually onto her back before darkness overwhelmed her and unconsciousness took her away.

In the darkness of the decrepit shed Magica returned to her senses. A chuckle began in her throat before it became a full blown cackle that echoed throughout the streets. Scrooge had tried his best, but she was still here. In the corner of her eye the gem glittered in the candlelight. With a grin she knew it would come in handy once more, one day, and stashed it away.

***

It was the first time the creation had experienced such pain and fear, and even though her creator's tantrums became commonplace from that moment forward, it didn't take away from the horror and fear she felt that very first time. The next day she could hardly bring herself to move, even at the behest of the shadowy creature that called itself Magica. Wondering what exactly was wrong, Magica finally took a look at the being she had created. Her cloak that she had worn only a day before was tattered and shredded. Underneath it she could see the extent of the damage she had caused, blood was still streaming out of some of the larger gashes. No wonder the useless thing wouldn't move. Magica realized it was in a fragile state of mind and body and seized the oppurtunity to make sure she could continue using it as vessel for her movements in the real world. (She had already accepted that she was attached to the thing as it was the night before when she attempted to leave it to die and found she could not move outside the range of it's shadow.) Knowing the injuries would raise suspicion, Magica used a shred of her newfound power to heal what she could. The thing still sat there shivering. _Ungrateful brat._ Magica supposed she was going to have to talk with it. She dubbed it Lenora, revelling in the irony that it the name had actually meant light. She calmed her voice and knelt down to whisper in Lenora's ear, promising her that punishments would only come if she were to fail her. Impressionable as she was, being only a day old in this world, Lenora came to understand that morning that Magica didn't actually want to hurt her. 

It would take many, many years for her to realize just how wrong she was.

***

And those years did pass as light and shadow chased after magical artifact after magical artifact trying desperately to resurrect Magica fully. With each failed attempt and each year that went by Magica grew weaker and weaker while news of Scrooge's success with his family slowed to a halt. It took awhile, but Magica eventually connected all the dots and sent Lena to Ducksberg with one goal. Find Scrooge's lucky dime. It was the only talisman she believed would work and they would have to head to the old duck's home turf to find it. However journeying outside of the magic riddled land Magica had come from would leave her weakened to a point of stasis. Knowing it was her only chance until the year of the next eclipse, she had Lenora prepare one final spell, one that would summon her back when she had either the dime in her grasp or it was close enough to the eclipse that Magica would once again be able to guide her creation to their goal.

Lenora went to Ducksberg with only the basic knowledge Magica had bothered to learn about her archnemesis and the story that she had traveled there with her 'Aunt', to avoid raising any suspicion as she snooped around. The first few weeks in Ducksberg were spent with Lenora aimlessly running around trying to find any sort of clue that could lead her to the reclusive adventurer. Rumors had it that the great Scrooge Mcduck had retired himself into his manor for good and fearfully remembering just how angry Magica could get at any sort of failure, Lenora refused to believe that was the truth. Her suspicions led her to the opening of a grand amphitheater and she snuck in to poke around with the nobles to see if the occasion would bring out Scrooge. By the time she realized that he didn't show, the play had started and almost all the exits were blocked. 

That night, Lenora watched performance after performance, falling more and more in love with stories of good and evil, loyalty and rebellion, love and loss and the passion of the actors who performed all of those stories with grand emotion. Night after night, Lenora found herself drawn to the amphitheater to watch the shows and rehearsals alike finding any number of excuses to go and enjoy herself. It gradually began to change her, as all passions change the person they attach themself to. 

It started with her outfit. For years she had worn the cloak she was created in, with it's many holes she had patched up herself. One night however, during the last showing of a musical set in Paris, the lead performer who had become accustomed to seeing Lenora night after night stopped her and gave her his costume, (a blue collared button up with a grey and black striped shirt) telling her that "It was much more her style."

Then it was her headfeathers. The colors of the costumes and sets were always so fun and full of life, whereas whenever Lenora would see herself in a reflection she looked shadowed and haunted. She stole some set paint one night and died the dark black feather tips the brightest color she could find. Pink wasn't her favorite color in the whole world, but it was bright and it was different. She picked up some of the cynical humor some of her favorite characters used in their lines and over the course of that year Lenora became someone different. 

Even if she still searched for Scrooge and his dime. 

Even if she still laid awake at night, haunted by the shadow pain of her punishments and stomach twisting from the grief of being unable to do the only job she was given.

She was now someone different than the creation with no name who had been mauled by a shadow calling itself Magica. 

As she finally realized this she noticed only one thing felt incomplete about her transformation. The name she had been given the first night. Lenora realized it had never really fit after all. So she gave herself a new one. 

One she felt finally fit her in a way a name should.

She called herself Lena.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shizolli batman, this chapter suuuuccckkked to write. It's why it's ending seems so rushed, my brain was just absolutely depleted after having to come up with so… much… headcannon. 
> 
> Lena's right though, Lenora is a stupid name. But I just couldn't let her be named Lena from the very start, where would Magica even get that from? The amazing authors of this site have much better explanations involving Magica being related to a Lena in the past or something along those lines, and well, go read their stuff. It's all amazing after all!! 
> 
> But I suppose I am kinda proud of my take on this whole thing. I managed to combine so many things from canon into her backstory that I surprised myself. I mean my favorite headcanon I've ever come up with has to be the idea that Lena loves theater. So I wanted to connect the transformation into the Lena we know and love today with the place we see her most associated with. Plus it's cute. Imagine little innocent Lena watching all of those magical stories and picturing a life in which she could find the love and friendships that were often shown in them.
> 
> On a more serious note, I wanted to be as respectful as possible with the scenarios of abuse in this chapter and I really really apologize if any of it cheapens anything someone might have felt or experienced in their life. I have never been abused in the way I believe Lena has, my abuse stemmed from a whole nother avenue so I try to draw upon that when writing Lena's trauma and reactions and stuff, but again it's not the same and I know that. 
> 
> You all can decide just how much or how detailed Lena told the boys of her story, this is just written in flashback because it's easier and allows me to not have to dialogue chunk out things in the way Lena would actually speak. Personally I think Lena would have downplayed her abuse a lot in the beginning, almost to the point of casually mentioning it. I imagine she still has a guilt complex about it, believing she deserved those things, even if she knows deep down she didn't. But eventually I think Lena would start being more and more honest with her feelings and her story as everything rushed out. 
> 
> The next chapter will connect everything that happened from when Lena met Webby to the present. Also finally, finally will give you all some of the well deserved Lena fluff… or… will it? o.O


	8. Chapter 7: A Happy Ending

"At first, I didn't even know who Webby was. All the sudden this random girl just appeared and… I wanted to know more about her. I hadn't really ever interacted with someone besides Magica and wasn't really in the mood to change that. But Webby was different. It was like she saw the world through different eyes. She didn't really care who I was, she just wanted to know more about me. It was like she found me fascinating." 

Lena chuckled and closed her eyes. She was breathing heavily, it was harder then she thought, letting everything out.

"When I found out she lived with Scrooge, I didn't think Magica's plans for the dime would get her hurt… or anyone hurt. But I was wrong. Everything I did was wrong to Magica and she was even more insane then when we originally left. I thought maybe the best way to avoid getting punished and avoid involving Webby any more then I had to would be to act like I didn't care. Which worked wonders until she brought up that stupid stone. It wasn't exactly what I would call pleasant watching all of my friends being eaten by a giant golden shark. Especially knowing I was the one who brought it there. I shouldn't have let it get that far in the first place. After that Magica knew she couldn't control me the same way she had before. So she got… more extreme."

Piece by piece the triplets were putting it together. Lena watched them connect the dots as she continued, unaware that above her someone else was also, finally, understanding it all. 

"And all of this time I thought I could keep her on the ropes. I managed to downplay me and Webby's friendship the best I could… until we ran into the dreamcatcher. The idea of Magica hurting Webby, just because of me… well it isn't known for causing your worst nightmares for nothing. When Scrooge found us and was only concerned that we could've gotten hurt… I knew I couldn't put you all in danger anymore."

Lena put her face in her hands and spoke in somewhat of a mocking voice.  
"But of course I was too late. Magica had enough power that she could literally take my body away from me… making me watch as she finished the job."

She chuckled again, with no amusement in her voice as she continued to cover her face.

"I don't know why or how I'm back. Heck I'm just glad I was lucky enough that I was able to find Webby in all the darkness and protect her. For all of 5 seconds of course. And then… nothing. Nothing until I woke up in the abandoned theater."

She refused to look up, instead letting the silence wrap the rest of the moment up. Lena didn't know what to expect, but when the sounds of sniffle reached her ears it certainly wasn't anything she was prepared for. She looked up to get a good look at each of the triplets. Huey's mouth hung open wide, his notebook having fallen onto the floor, long forgotten. Dewey was staring at the floor his face unreadable, and then she noticed Louie as he sniffled once more. Louie was clutching a pillow close to his chest, his eyes wet. Eventually after the third sniffle Huey snapped out of his shock and stared at his brother on the other side of the couch.

"Dude, are you crying?" He asked, out of pure concern.

"No! I mean, yes!" Louie yelled in defeat as the first tear finally ran down his face and he buried his head into the pillow. Huey continued to stare at Louie in concern as Dewey finally looked up and stared straight at Lena.

"I can't believe you did all of that… put up with Magica for so long, just for us." He said quietly.

Lena's heart stopped. She still felt sick and dizzy from finally telling them everything. She didn't expect any sort of pleasant reaction, but she had never considered… gratitude? It didn't seem real. She had to be misunderstanding, misreading the look in Dewey's eyes. 

"You're not even mad at me?" She asked trying to provoke him to give up this act, to confirm her suspicions. However Huey wasn't having any of it.

"Would you just stop the whole humble act already and just accept no one's mad at you?! Just accept that you're finally getting a happy ending so I won't have to feel bad anymore!" Louie said, lifting his head out of the pillow just long enough to berate her before shoving it right back in. Huey got up and put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. 

"I mean I only see him get this choked up after watching those classic sappy hero movies when the main character sacrifices everything for their love interest. You have to admit Lena, you didn't do anything wrong." Huey said with a supportive smile.

" _THEY ARE NOT SAPPY._ " Louie yelled, his anger muffled through his pillow.

The room stopped spinning as Lena finally realized she had fully relaxed. She looked at the weird and wonderful scene in front of her and wondered how she could have ever been scared of what these 3 goofballs would think of her. She let out a nervous chuckle.

"They are pretty sappy aren't they?" She said with a smile that was returned by the two other ducks who didn't have their heads buried in a pillow.

Before anyone could answer the jest however a dark figure flew down from the ceiling, landing right in front of Lena with a heavy thud. The triplets instantly bounded to their feet as Lena sat frozen. Within a second they had all recognized the figure as Webby, but her face was down, covered in shadows that left Lena unknown to what she was feeling.

" _Why_?" Her voice cracked from underneath the shadow. 

Lena couldn't speak. Her mouth was dry and her breathing was rapid. Webby knew everything now. Of course she was angry. She didn't want to give her any more excuses. There really was nothing left to say.

Webby finally looked up and really looked at her best friend for the first time all day. Her eyes shone with a sadness that ran deep. Lena held back a gasp. Webby looked awful, it was apparent she had been crying most of the day but these tears were new.

What had she done?

" _Why didn't you tell me you big, stupid idiot?!_ " Webby yelled angrily as she tackled her best friend in a bone crushing hug. 

Lena froze and stiffened. She didn't understand anything. All she could do is listen to the gentle sniffles of the younger duck who was clinging to her to try and figure out this new development.

"I could have stopped her, I could have helped… you didn't have to be alone…" Webby said softly after her sniffles had slowed. Still she clung tight to Lena.

Something inside Lena was collapsing, it felt as though she was disintegrating. Melting right into Webby's hug Lena finally broke. 

"I'm sorry…" She cried, her tears feeling hot on her cheeks as she buried her head even deeper into Webby's shoulder. 

"I'm so so so sorry. I'm an idiot, I know, I just didn't know what to do..." Lena continued as instead of pushing her away Webby held her even tighter.

"I'm sorry too." Webby said holding Lena while she finally let out a whole lifetime of grief in her tears. Before either of them could really recover from their embrace and sobs a yell sounded from the couch.

"Aghhhh, it's too much! I want in!" Louie cried as the girls felt a large weight tackle them into a hug. It was only seconds after that the other two joined in and soon all five of the kids were huddled together on the floor wrapped in each other arms. They giggled at how silly it all was but still they wouldn't let go. So there they stayed as the events and stress of everything that had happened the night before finally left and everyone's tears had been dried.

***

Scrooge watched it all from the doorway of the study, a smile filling his face and heart. Behind him both Beakly and Donald snuck up to watch the scene as well. After awhile they tore their eyes off of their children and really looked at each other, the warmth of the moment cracking the hard shell of adulthood each of them had just grown accustomed to. Remembering back when they were all kids whose hearts couldn't hold grudges they beamed at each other and for a moment everyone, young and old, were grateful just to have each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, a few things to clarify right off the bat. This is not the end of Having Lived in Shadow. There are quite a few loose ends I need to tie up such as, Why is Lena back? And of course Magica is still out there and she won't be pleased to know all her enemies are all grossly being all huggy and lovey after she tried to destroy them and all. Also how Lena slowly deals with her affinity to flinch at everything that moves and the trauma behind that. Cause that doesn't just go away after one hug... even if it is as amazing as the one she recieved.
> 
> But I wrote this and wrapped it up in such a way that it could be an ending.
> 
> Why did I do this? Cause Ducktales returns October 20th and I know myself. If I do not finish this before that date there is a high likelyhood I will be crushed by canon, not because I'm afraid to go against canon, or that I'm afraid that fans will not accept the way I would probably be rewriting it, but because I lose confidence so easily when faced with amazing creations such as Ducktales. In fact since I started writing this I have stopped reading and watching tv because I'm terrified I'll lose my nerve. It's helped so so so sooooo much that you all have left such amazing comments and kudos and just even bothered to look at my story. You all have made this amazing to write to the point that every time I sit down and have time I want to write I want to continue making up stupid backstories for imaginary ducks and causing angst in said ducks because of said backstory. I write out whole chunks of stuff and instead of obsessing over how I could have wrote this better, or done this differently I just post it and actually feel satisfied.
> 
> So yeah. The end, but not really! 
> 
> Also you have no idea how badly I wanted to just write Webby as like slapping Lena. _"You stupid! I would've never been mad at you. Now come and give me a hug."_ But that would be not only out of character, but just kinda wrong. 
> 
> Also part 2: Louie is a sucker for happy endings and sappy stories. I love exploiting that. It's such wonderful addition to his character who is usually so chill/grumpy. His reactions were my favorite to write.
> 
> Also also also, I just want to know that in my story I don't really have an idea or a care much about how Lena and Webby feel about each other other then they just care about each other. Is it relationship love? You decide! Do they love each other as sisters would? You decide! Are they just really close best friends, almost a found family sort of way? YOU DECIDE! I'm asexual as flip so I can't write relationships outside of Person A, cares for, Person B. I'll use love in this story probably to describe just a strong feeling of care (there are multiple ways of loving someone btw). 
> 
> Sooo yeah... that's it! See ya guys in the next chapter!


	9. Chapter 8: Missing Something?

The kids all laid sprawled out on the soft carpet of the study, the comfort and joy that was brought about by what had happened only a few minutes before filling the silence that was left after the laughter had died down. Dewey and Huey were laying almost side by side with Louie sitting upright against the legs of the couch that had held them earlier, his eyes closed. Lena had fallen down halfway under the desk she was leaning against previously with Webby's head resting against her stomach, rising and falling with Lena's much calmer breathing. No one spoke a word, there wasn't anything to say. The adults had left the doorway to attend to other matters long ago. Lena felt the beginning of exhaustion take over her body, and feeling more comfortable then she had ever before in her life, began drifting off when Webby shot up, taking everyone by surprise.

Lena, reacting quickly, tried sitting up with her only to bang her head against the very desk she was under and falling back down with an annoyed grunt. Huey and Dewey both sat up and stared while the noise seemed to somewhat wake Louie who had fallen asleep.

"Heh, I'm sorry." Webby said apologetically, helping Lena up as she rubbed her head. "It's just that, if you're going to be living with us now, we need to find you a room right?"

Louie mumbled something in his half sleep that sounded something like, "Living room? We have like five…" before adjusting himself and falling once again into sleep.

"There's like dozens of empty rooms here, we should be able to find one pretty easily, why do we have do anything now?" Dewey asked as he reached over and started stacking nearby objects on his brother's head while he snored. 

"Yeah there are a lot of _empty_ rooms so it's going to take awhile to get Lena's all set up right?" Webby said enthusiastically helping Huey up while they watched Dewey stack yet another pillow on Louie's head.

Lena stopped rubbing her head and froze. "Uh, really Webby it's alright, I'll just grab a blanket or something for tonight." She said putting up the appearance of nonchalance. 

"Nope. Bad idea Lena. The mansion gets super drafty at night." Huey said as he grabbed a book off a nearby shelf and rebalanced Dewey's pile before it toppled over. 

Webby turned to Lena with a smile. "Scrooge likes to save money by turning off the entire heating and air unit. Me and gran re-insulated my room a long time ago, so you've probably never felt it."

Lena rolled her eyes as they both turned back to Dewey and Huey who had grabbed a nearby globe and were trying to top off their stack with it. However as soon as they seemed to get the globe balanced, Louie jerked in his sleep and the entire pile lurched to the left and toppled onto Dewey. Everyone snickered as the loud noise caused Louie to jump up and look around wildly, before glaring at the snickering Huey and groaning Dewey. 

"Louie! We're going to go find and set up a room for Lena, wanna help?" Webby distracted him before he lunged at his brothers. It seemed to work as Louie gave her a confused look. 

"A room? Why don't you use the one next to yours, you know the one that has the view of th-"

A loud gasp sounded from Webby cutting off the rest of what Louie was going to say. Her eyes seemed to light up as she turned back to look at Lena.

"That's perfect!" Webby shouted, running out of the room. "Come on Lena! You're going to love it!" Her voice echoed as she disappeared into the hallway. Lena rolled her eyes once more and followed after her best friend leaving the boys to scramble after them.

***

Lena and Webby were the first ones to arrive at the closed double doors of what Lena presumed was the room in question. When the triplets finally had caught up to them, Webby dramatically threw open the doors only to be greeted by Scrooge Mcduck.

"Bout time you children showed up." He said with a large grin as Lena peered behind him into the ginormous room.

Expecting it to be completely barren everyone was surprised to see it full of items and knicknacks. Launchpad and Donald were moving the final piece into place as Launchpad noticed the visitors. Dropping his end of the bed, he ecstatically greeted them. 

Donald was less ecstatic as the sudden drop caused him to lose his grip on the bed and it came crashing down onto his foot. He quacked angrily in pain and launched himself backwards to free his foot only to collide with a dresser that threatened to topple onto him with the impact. Launchpad finally took his eyes off of kids and dove to straighten it before it fell, only to trip on Donald's prone form sending both him and Donald rolling just out of the way as the dresser landed with a crash. 

"That's.…that's my stuff." Lena said unbelieving as she tore her eyes off the incident and glanced around the room. There was the old coffee table and chair that had been in her room since she first moved in there, and the curtains she had used to cover up all of Magica's crazed drawing's of revenge hung over the giant window on the far side of the room. Even her posters were hanging up almost in the exact positions as she put them in when she was living under the amphitheater. 

"Yes, well, it looks like we might have to get you a new dresser." Scrooge said looking pointedly at Donald and Launchpad who were still collapsed in a heap on the ground. 

Lena looked up at him incredulously. "Why did you move all of this here?

Scooge chuckled lightheartedly. "Did you really expect to pay for all new furnishings?" He said with a wink. "All right then lass, that should be about everything. Let Beakly know if you need anything else. I'm going out for a bit to inquire about the whereabouts of Magica. None of you are to step one foot outside the mansion until she's caught, understand? He said, eyeing them all sternly. 

The kids all nodded in agreement. Excellent, well then, come along boys!" He said, calling to the heap as he left. Launchpad well, _launched_ himself upright and followed Scrooge out the door obediently, and limping after them was a rather grumpy and sullen Donald.

As soon as they all left, the kids filed into the Lena's room and looked around. Louie was the first to speak.

"Man Lena, your stuff looks a lot less creepy in actual light." 

"Yeah, uh, why did you use a blacklight bulb anyways?" Huey asked, going over and turning on the lava lamp on her desk.

Lena continued to stare at everything she had gathered in awe as she answered. "It created less shadows." She said automatically, going over and sitting down on her bed.

There was a soft oh, that came from the boys as Webby went over and sat next to Lena. "Well, there's no reason to worry about that anymore."

Lena looked at her best friend and she noticed that the enthusiastic light in Webby's eyes had slightly faded. Eager to change the subject before she made anyone else feel bad she poked Webby in the stomach playfully.

"Mad that Scrooge beat you to the punch?" She teased.

"A little, yeah." Webby replied sheepishly. But the light did spark back up again as she leaped up from the bed. "Though I at least get to be the one to see your reaction to this!" She said as she threw back the curtains covering the window. 

Lena's breath caught in her throat as she saw the view from outside the window. The east side of Ducksberg grew sparser and sparser as it neared the rocky beach and the ocean beyond it. All of that was visible from the window and framed directly in the center, almost glowing in the noonday sun was the old amphitheater. The place that Lena had called home for many years. Lena almost hypnotically walked towards the huge window, putting her hand against it, she could almost hear the sound of the ocean hitting the rocks from here. It was perfect.

Webby stood to her side beaming as the rest of the crew gathered around and took in the view as well. 

"That's not all either!" Webby said, drawing Lena's attention over to the nearby wall. Walking over, she bent down and pressed against a large wooden panel that shuddered and lifted, revealing a small crawlspace. 

"You're right across from me, so this passage will lead you right into my room." Webby finished with a grin. 

There was a small cry of outrage from Dewey as the passage revealed itself.

"You mean there was a secret passage into Webby's room this entire time?! Ugh, that would have made it soooo much easier to break in when we were going to lay out all of those-" 

Dewey was cut short by Louie's uneasy laughter as he covered his brothers mouth with his hand.

"Uh, all of those balloons…. for your surprise party." He said with a forced smile at his brother. 

Lena and Webby both glared at them but they were interrupted by a small alarm going off on Louie's phone.

"Oh shoot!" He yelled, grabbing at his phone and shutting the alarm off. "I set that timer for the marathon of Ottoman Empire that's on today. We gotta go or we'll miss the first episode!" He said, pushing Dewey and Huey out of the room. 

Lena and Webby looked at each other and giggled. 

"Well, we better go too or they'll eat all of the popcorn like last time." Webby said, following the boys out of the room. She turned back to look at Lena who was glancing at the window. 

"Yeah. Just give me a second." Lena said apologetically. 

Webby nodded and walked down towards the living room leaving Lena alone with her thoughts. Although she was happier then she had been in a long time, something still felt wrong. It felt like a hole had begun forming in her stomach and was only growing larger and larger as she stood among all of her old stuff. Something was still missing and Lena couldn't help but feeling like it was still all a dream. One that would eventually take a turn for the worse.

Shaking her head and taking one final look outside at the amphitheater she followed Webby down to the living room. 

***

The Ottoman Empire was playing softly in the background after hours had passed of the kids watching it. Dewey, Huey and Louie were all gathered together on a couch facing the huge tv, wrapped in a blanket, while Lena chose to sit on the ground leaning against the couch and Webby had decided to sit with her. One by one sleep claimed each of the children until only Lena remained. She had lost interest in the show hours ago, as she suspected everyone else did as well. They were all just too comfortable/lazy to admit it or suggest doing anything different. Still Lena's mind wouldn't let her sleep, it was too preoccupied with thoughts of something being missing. She began to clutch at her chest, only to realize the amulet that used to hang there was gone. It was then Lena realized what she was missing. Glancing down at Webby's snoring body that was leaning against her own, she saw it. The friendship bracelet. Guilt continued to gnaw at the hole in her stomach. 

Realizing she wasn't going to get any peace if she sat there, Lena reached up and stole a pillow from one of the triplets head and gently got up and leaned Webby's body onto it. She smiled at how comfortable her best friend looked and made sure her exit was as quiet as possible.

In the quiet of the night, without anyone's knowledge, Lena left the safety of the mansion and slipped out into the dark. 

Hiding out somewhere in Ducksberg not too far from the mansion, Magica grinned. 

It seemed Lena could still be of some use after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who's ready for the climax to begin? Anyone miss Magica? I know I sure did. Seems like she has been waiting for something, or... someone. Whatever she's got cooking can't be good. And where the heck is Lena off to? 
> 
> Sorry for the dullness of this chapter, I really wanted to jump right into the climax, but realized there was no way to wrap up the story afterwards if I didn't set a few things up here and now. Heck I even bored myself with this, but the good news is I have been waiting eagerly to get to this next part since I first thought up this story so hopefully it wont take me long at all to update it. And I have this weekend off so plenty of time as well. Anyways, I'm tired and have a long shift coming up so I'm going to go to bed now.


	10. Chapter 9: Of Some Use

Lena expertly navigated her way through the back alley's of Ducksberg, trying her best to stay out of sight of anyone who happened to be awake at this time of night. She didn't fear the dark, nor did she fear what may have been lurking in it, having grown used to traveling the backroads at night. Perhaps this was why failed to notice the shadowy figure that had been tailing her since she left the mansion grounds, or maybe she was just simply too preoccupied with her own thoughts to hear that each one of her footsteps traveled with an echo of another, only just slightly behind her.

The amphitheater had been originally designed to catch the moonlight in such a way that the entire area would be lit up by even the tiniest sliver of the moon and tonight was no different. The cloudless sky and waning full moon only seemed to relax Lena further as she approached her old home that was basked in the ghostly glow. She had come back for a reason and yet still she hesitated at the brink of the water that lapped against the far end of the theater. The columns around the area held plenty of reminders of the life she used to live. There were shallow dents in the stone from impacts that Magica had caused in her many tantrums and punishments along with tally marks and many single player games of tick tack toe. 

Lena ran her hand against one of the games and not for the first time that day wondered why she felt like this was the life she was supposed to live. Solitary and painful though it was, it was familiar. Everything in the mansion felt wrong, even when she was surrounded by her friends, even when she happier then she been in a long time something still ate at her. The hand that caressed the old childlike markings formed into a fist and in a flash, smashed against the column causing dust to rain down from it's crumbling form. 

Why wasn't she happy?

Sighing, she bent down and reached her hand into the water, searching desperately for something she had hoped would ease her mind and heart, even if just a little bit. Lena had been holding onto the hope that the waves and water hadn't washed it out into the ocean and felt that hope draining more and more rapidly as her hand continued to grasp onto nothing but sand and rocks. 

Perhaps, if she had not found what she was looking for in that very moment, things would have turned out differently. Without that very item Lena may have just collapsed into those feeling's of helplessness and loss and truly disappeared into the night as if she really never did exist in the first place. 

As fate would have it, however, she did find what she was looking for. 

In her hand she looked down at the friendship bracelet she had stupidly tossed away for the idea of whatever freedom she could get from her past. It had lost some of it's color and the strings had begun to fray at the end, but still it brought her comfort. Even if she didn't feel right now, Webby had always known where Lena really belonged, who she really was. This bracelet would just have to help her along until she realized it for herself. 

Before she was able to wrap it around her wrist once more and return to the mansion, a familiar chuckle echoed behind her. Lena's heart dropped out of her chest and her blood turned to ice as a hand snatched the bracelet away and out of sight. Whipping around Lena was greeted by the sight of the a person she had called 'family' for 15 years. 

"Gosh, I had forgotten how truly ugly this thing was." Magica said with a grimace as she gazed down at the bracelet. 

" _Magica._ " Lena hissed through her clenched teeth, battling through her nerves as the very sight of Magica in a physical form sent terror through her body. The anger of seeing the witch holding Webby's gift gave her enough of a reason to push past the paralysis as she launched herself at Magica, intent on getting it back. 

However, Lena never even got close to Magica before she was tossed backwards, her body sliding dangerously close to the edge of the water. 

"You know, honestly you should have thanked me for making you toss this tacky thing before anyone actually saw you with it." Magica said casually, entirely unfazed by the attempted assault.

Lifting her head up and away from the spray of the ocean, Lena frowned. She could have sworn that Magica had never even moved a muscle. Still driven by adrenaline, she didn't think too long on this as she again threw herself at the witch. This time Lena saw the bracelet began to glow with a dark purple aura that quickly surrounded her own body and once again she was sent flying backwards, this time with even more force that left Lena out of breath and seeing stars.

"Perhaps I wasn't clear, _Lena_ ," Magica mocked, looming over the young duck menacingly. "You belong to me until you _earn_ your freedom." She finished, her voice taking on a dangerous tone as Lena felt a crushing weight slowly collapsing her chest. Unable to breath, she began to claw at the ground, hoping for some sort of leverage to fight against this force that was pushing her into the ground, suffocating her. 

"Aw, don't look so down," Magica said, her voice returning to it's light and mocking air it always carried. "After all, once you die you'll finally be of _some_ use to me." 

Lena was very much aware of the fact that she was dying. Unable to gain any sort of oxygen into her body, her attempts at moving slowly faded as her vision began to blur. She could barely make out a voice through the pounding of her own blood in her ears but could've sworn she recognized the small lithe figure barrel into Magica as the crushing weight was finally removed. Immediately Lena began gasping for air, coughing and wheezing as oxygen rushed back into her lungs. She lurched upright to see where Magica had gone only to see Webby dash across the amphitheater, dodging and weaving out of Magica's reach as the witch slashed at her with a small knife. The sight tore at Lena's heart. 

"Webby, what are you doing?! GET OUT OF HERE!" Lena coughed out as she started struggling to get up, desperately wanting to protect her friend before she ended up getting hurt. She had barely gotten to her feet when Magica turned and shot her a venomous glare, the bracelet glowing once more as Lena felt herself lifting off the ground. The pressure was back, only this time it was solely focused on her throat and neck, desperate to crush it. She felt herself rising farther and farther up as once again Magica attempted to suffocate her.

"Be quiet!" Magica snapped before turning out of the way as Webby dove at her with roar of anger. 

With the last of the breath she had inhaled Lena was able to choke out a single word in which Webby strained to hear. As she ran out of the way of another desperate strike in her direction Webby glanced at Magica's clutched fist.

 _The bracelet_. 

Somehow it was giving Magica powers again. 

With Lena far out of Webby's reach, she resolved herself to getting that bracelet back. Dashing behind one of the crumbling remains of the great columns that bordered the edge of the amphitheater Webby looked around for something, anything, that could work. She picked up a decent sized rock and hoped that it would be enough. 

She dove out of her hiding spot and rolled around the back of Magica, her knife barely grazing past where Webby had just been hiding. Fixing her feet firmly in place, she hurled the rock as hard as she could. 

Although the projectile was small and the throw, fueled by panic, was somewhat weak, Webby's aim was true and the rock crashed into Magica's elbow. It struck a nerve that caused Magica's entire arm to seize up and she was forced to drop the bracelet. Diving after it, Webby scooped it up and looked up to where Lena was grasping at her throat, finally able to breathe but plummeting back to earth at an alarming speed. Without thinking, Webby slid under her friend in a desperate attempt to break her fall in any way she could. 

Although the impact nearly crushed her legs, Lena landed on Webby with a thud, both of them relatively unharmed. Lena could still feel the pressure on her throat and could tell it was damaged, but she could still breathe and that meant she could still speak.

"Webby, you got to get… you've got to get out of here. Get help… I'll stay here. It's me she wants anyways." Lena wheezed out in a rush, rolling off her friend and attempting to get up onto her knees. 

"Oh no you don't." Webby said angrily, grabbing one of Lena's arms as if to stop Lena from getting away. 

"I'm not leaving you." Webby said firmly, gently sliding the bracelet back onto her best friends wrist. 

Lena's eyes pleaded with Webby to leave, to run, to get to safety only to be met by Webby's fiery determination to stay by her side. However, before either of them could say another word, Magica materialized in front of them, knife above her head, ready to strike.

"Perfect," She cackled, "Two birds, one knife." She grinned as the knife sliced through the air, directly towards the two. 

In an instant Lena jerked her hand out of Webby's and moved to intercept the strike, raising her arms up as if to stop the knife when a blinding flash filled the amphitheater. 

In the early hours of the morning, the peaceful night of Ducksberg was pierced by an agonized scream that seemed to echo all throughout the streets and buildings before once again… the world fell deathly quiet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mwehehehehe.
> 
> I'll tell you what dear readers and friends, this isn't going to end well.  
> Especially for me, cause I was so eager to get this out I stayed up when I really should've grabbed some sleep...
> 
> I have work in literally 30 minutes.  
> Love you all~ 
> 
> Enjoy the wait until I update again.


	11. Chapter 10: Magic

Webby woke up in somewhat of a foggy stupor. She was sprawled out along the old amphitheater floor, unable to remember exactly what she had been doing. She clambered to her feet, slightly stumbling as her stomach lurched and her head pounded. In her ears there was a distant ringing. Taking a step forward she attempted to shake off her grogginess. She needed a clear head to figure out what had happened and all she seemed to remember was a blinding flash of light before she was flung backwards by some sort of force. 

She looked around her as she took another step. The amphitheater looked different from when she last remembered it. At the far end, where the theater was closest to the cliffs, the columns had collapsed, somewhat recently judging from the dust cloud that seemed to hang in the air above the crumbled ruins. About 6 feet in front of her there was a scorch mark on the ground and next to it… a knife…

Webby lurched forward, the memories flooding back. Magica, Lena… where were they? The amphitheater seemed so quiet that it was impossible not to assume the worse. Falling to her knees next to the knife she took a closer look at it. Even in the darkness of the night she couldn't see a single drop of blood on it. That had to be good right? If that was the case, what had actually happened? Webby recalled the picture vividly now, Lena throwing her arms up in an attempt to stop Magica from bringing the knife down on both of them, then… the blinding light once again, and Lena… she was screaming. 

Webby blinked the beginning of hot tears out of her eyes and swallowed the fear that was rising up in her throat. Once again she looked around, desperate to find any trace of her best friend. It was against the ocean side of the theater that she found Lena, only something wasn't right. Snatching the knife off the ground she immediately ran towards her. It wasn't long before Webby realized that Lena was glowing. She was outlined in a soft blue light, the rest of her color completely gone and replaced with different tones of blue. Her left arm seemed to have completely faded away, the only trace of it that was left was the small glow of her friendship bracelet. Squinting Webby could see that although she was still breathing, Lena wasn't moving at all. Immediately Webby dove onto her knees next to her and tried to shake her awake. There was no response. 

"No.…no no no. Lena come on, you've got to get up you big stupid. You just have to." Webby begged her, as she shifted to support Lena's head on her lap. 

Still Lena didn't respond. Webby's heart lurched in her chest, she didn't know what to do. She chastised herself for not getting Scrooge up as soon as she realized Lena had gone missing. He'd know what to do, he always knew what to do. Just as she was planning on hauling Lena back to the mansion herself however she noticed something else was going on. It seemed with every breath Lena took she seemed to fade in her color more and more. Not only that but the emptiness where her arm should be was spreading into her chest and down the entire left side of her body. The only trace that anything was there was the bracelet that was still glowing softly.

Whatever was happening to Lena, it was happening fast. There would be no time to get her to Scrooge. Which left only one other person who would know what to do.

"What did you do to her…" Webby said quietly, knowing she was around to hear it. Only silence answered.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!" Webby repeated, finally dragging her eyes off of Lena to look around.

The crumbled columns on the far side of the theater began to move and shift as Magica dragged herself out of the wreckage. She stumbled a bit as she grabbed her head, every bit a picture of someone who had one too many at the bar.

"Child, keep it down, my head is absolutely killing me." She groaned out as she walked towards the noise.

Webby held the dagger she had grabbed up in a protective manner as Magica stumbled closer and closer to her. Eventually the witch opened her eyes and took in the sight in front of her. Holding her hands up in somewhat of a mock surrendering posture she chuckled as she finally got a look at Lena.

"Oh well well well, what is this?" She asked innocently.

"Fix her.…you … you witch. Or I'll kill you. I'll kill you were you stand." Webby said shakily, waving the knife out in front of her.

"Oh please, you and I both know you don't have it in you to kill someone. Besides, I didn't do this to her so I can't, as you say, _fix her._ Not that I would take orders from a child anyways."

"What… what do you mean?" Webby said, the hand holding the knife shaking slightly.

"Oh come on, you can't be that dense can you? Look at her. She did this to herself." Magica said, rolling her eyes. However her explanation was met by only a blank stare, so she groaned and continued.

"Think of it this way, when Lena was under me she was probably about 75% shadow, 25% magic. I banished the shadow part of her away and the rest of the magic seemed to bond into those ugly bracelets. That magic made her bracelet a totem of sorts and somehow brought her back here through the power of friendship or whatever. So now she's about 80% magic and 20% rebellious shadow creature thing and 100% of a nuisance that finally seems to have taken care of itself." 

Webby looked down at Lena once again, although a good portion of the left side of her body had disappeared now, the bracelet on what should have been her wrist was still lit up in a spectacular blue that seemed to pulsate with every breath she took.

"I doubt she meant to do it, but with that magical blast she created to protect you she expelled almost the entirety of the magic holding her together. In essence blasting apart her physical form. What you see now is the remainder of that magic just trying to hold itself together. Trying, and failing." Magica finished with an evil grin, slowly backing away into the shadows.

"There's nothing you can do to fix this, _Webby_ , and as much as I enjoy seeing both you and her suffer, you still have my dagger and well, I don't want to stick around to find out what you _can_ do with it." Magica said as she seemed to melt right into the shadows on the ground, her evil laugh echoing around the amphitheater long after she was gone. 

Webby dropped the knife and stared down at her best friend. She was fading faster now, the emptiness already a good portion of the way across her body. The tears that were flowing out of Webby's eyes seemed to pass right through Lena as they fell. All she could do is sit there helplessly as she cradled her best friend, the realization that there was absolutely nothing left to save her sitting heavily on her heart. 

Webby eventually rested her head on Lena's head, with it being the only thing that had yet to fade away and sobbed.

"I'm sorry. It wasn't supposed to be like this anymore." She cried softly as the emptiness started taking the final pieces of her best friend from her. 

"I was supposed to protect you, and I couldn't even do that." Webby said as her beak fell against her chest with nothing left to support it anymore.

Lena was gone.

The only thing that remained was the friendship bracelet that fell limply into Webby's lap and for the second time that night, the quiet of Ducksberg was pierced by another agonized cry as Webby heart finally gave way to her sadness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAHAHAHAHA. Oh ow. This was an emotion journey was it not? I'm not going to lie, there was a huge part of me that was screaming, END IT. END IT RIGHT THERE. RIGHT WHERE YOU KNOW IT WOULD HURT THEM THE MOST.
> 
> Then the other part came back to its senses and was like, dude, it's too short. At least finish the scene. 
> 
> So I did. 
> 
> I'm not too happy with how choppy this feels, but then again, it's mostly told from Webby's perspective and she's not thinking to clearly or coherently so that's going to be my excuse.
> 
> Seems like I'm getting close to wrapping this all up after all. 10 days left and I'm thinking either 1 or 2 chapters left in this story. Will I make it? Will my writing seem to get worse and worse as I rush to get this all out in time? Find out next time on ~~DRAGON BALL Z~~ Having Lived in Shadow!!!


	12. Chapter 11: She Belongs

The night was still fairly young as Webby's cry echoed into nothing but quiet sobs. There was no wind, no sound of wildlife and even the sound of the ocean seemed to be numbed by the events that had just happened. However, the world could not forever be stilled by Webby's loss. As much as she may have wanted the whole world to remain quiet, the wind eventually began to pick up again, a seagull cried out somewhere above her and the ocean began once again crashing against the rocks with renewed vigor, as if eager to wash away the nights events. 

How could Webby have lost her again? It just didn't seem possible. What did she do wrong? Yeah, perhaps Lena was never truly meant to be in this world, but still she was a part of it. She wasn't meant to ever become more then Magica's puppet and yet she fought alongside Webby and the triplets to save Ducksberg. It just didn't add up. If the world had truly wanted Lena to disappear forever, why did it bring her back in the first place? Was it just to taunt Webby?

Was it to protect her one last time? 

Webby wanted to get up, she wanted to begin to trudge towards the mansion just to fall into her grandma's warm embrace and never leave it, but her legs refused to move. 

No.

 

This couldn't be it. Lena deserved better.

She looked down at the friendship bracelet that was still laying limply in her lap. It was faintly glowing. 

Maybe it wasn't too late. Thinking quickly she snatched it up and thought hard about all the times her and Lena had shared together. About the first night they had met and the insanity that ensued. How elated she had felt that entire night knowing that she actually, truly, had made herself a friend. The first night Lena slept over at the mansion and insanity that also ensued… 

Webby was beginning to realize Lena definitely had a knack for drawing in danger.

She shook her head. It didn't matter, every time, no matter how bad things got, their friendship somehow got them through. She loved that big idiot and there was no way Lena was leaving her alone again. Lena existed, she belonged in the world, in Webby's world. She belonged in the mansion and she belonged in the crazy wacky adventures that would surely come following this night. The world would not take her from Webby again. 

She would make sure of that.

Webby's eyes were clenched tightly closed in thought, and hope, as both friendship bracelets began to glow brighter and brighter. Slowly but surely, the blue glow that had surrounded both of the bracelets began to take form. Webby felt a weight returning to her lap as the bracelet in her hand slipped free of her grasp and wrapped itself magically around it original owner. The blue glow that surrounded Lena eventually gave way to her normal color and Webby opened her eyes just in time to see a familiar sullen face looking back at her.

"Did I ever tell you how much I hate magic?" Lena said quietly, giving her best friend a weak smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Raise your hands if you all thought this story was dead!! *raises hand*
> 
> I know it's been awhile and I also know that this chapter wasn't really a chapter either but I had to do something to fix whatever cop out I wrote last time. (Speaking of which, might want to revisit the previous chapter, I cut out the end so I could write this one out better.) ANNYYWAAAYS. Time and energy got away from me last time. It wasn't really the return of Ducktales, (especially considering we've been Lena-less for so long) but more of the... as more episodes came out without the hint of even seeing her again, the more I lost interest and could not connect to the world anymore. Which is important when you are writing in the world of Ducktales. IF I lose interest in Scrooge, I cannot write him as well, and when you lose interest in the world in general all of the characters that you've put into said scenario become impossible to give direction to. You have an idea of where the scenario will go but the characters become lifeless and you just can't write the interactions that would make the idea whole.
> 
> But that all leads up to about sometime last week or the week before when a certain episode leaked somewhere and found it's way to me on my youtube feed. 
> 
> And just a heads up for anyone still watching the series religously and doesn't want spoilers don't read the following italics.
> 
>  
> 
> _Friendship bracelet!! Bitches I called it! AHAHAHAHAHAHA. Regardless of how awesome it felt getting that (really sort of obvious) clue correct that entire episode was extremely worth the wait. I get why they couldn't deal with Lena's grief or the idea of Magica's abuse, but they didn't short us on how much she still cares for Webby. Not in the slightest. So much so that her care becomes angry spirits hell bent on taking Webby away. xD_
> 
>  
> 
> _Ahh it was just so amazing. ___
> 
> _  
> _It got me right back into wanting to write, but everytime I revisited Having Lived in Shadow I came to the last chapter and felt an odd sort of, satisfied but still unsatisfied sort of feeling. I knew I didn't want it to end there, but I was so rushed back then to get coherent pieces together that I ended up ending it anyways. So today, since things in my life went fully sideways and gave me a chance to write again, I decided to do a bit of cleaning up to make way for the next few chapters to come._  
>  _
> 
>  
> 
> _  
> _Once again, thank you all so much for reading my stupid little blurbs about fantasy ducks._  
>  _


	13. Chapter 12: It's Fine

"Ow… Webby, as much as I appreciate the fact that you missed me, I'm still sorta of sore from the whole, almost dying thing." Lena managed to choke out beyond Webby's bone crushing hug.

"Oh, right, sorry!" Webby said sheepishly, reluctantly peeling herself off her best friend. "It's just, I thought I lost you again."

Lena chuckled. "You can't get rid of me that easily, after all who's going to keep ya safe from all the scary magic out there?" 

"Hey! I'll have you know that scary magic is what brought you back the last 2 times, and so help me there better not be a third!" Webby shot back, laughing a bit through the tears that threatened to overtake her.

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind." Lena chuckled back, but as she attempted to get up she winced and caught her breath as she looked down at her arm, the source of the pain. There was an awful big wound ripped across her forearm that was still openly bleeding, and beyond all the blood and red she thought she even saw bone. 

"Yikes, guess that's what happens when your physical body explodes with magic." Lena laughed nervously, trying to tuck her arm away from Webby. 

"LENA! Oh my gosh, you're going to bleed out! We've got to get you back to the mansion right now!" Webby said, easily seeing the giant gash past Lena's attempts to hide it. She bolted to her feet and in a moment Lena was up in the air, being carried out of the amphitheater. 

"Uh, Webby? As much as I appreciate the concern I think my legs are about the only thing on me that didn't get hurt. I can walk just fine. "

"Nonsense. Even if your legs aren't injured you could easily collapse from blood loss and trauma, not to mention almost being suffocated _twice_ probably put plenty of strain on your lungs. That and you're pretty much running on fumes-"

"And you're not?"

"Shock usually takes awhile to kick in after all and by that time it's almost too late…" Webby rambled on ignoring Lena completely.

"Webby put me down." Lena said evenly.

"Then there is the possible infection you could get from dust or just the air itself-"

"Webby I'm not going to get an infection from _walking_. Put me down, you're going to hurt yourself." Lena said again, a little more annoyed. 

Again, as if she didn't hear her, Webby continued on, picking up the pace until she was practically running. It was soon a full on sprint as she rounded the corner that lead up the hill to the mansion.

"Webby! You're going too fast! Slow down!" Lena pleaded as Webby continued to ignore her. She was going too fast to see a stray branch, probably kicked up in the storm of shadows from the previous night, that was sticking up directly in her way and of course once it snagged her foot both Lena and Webby crashed into the ground. Once they both finally rolled to a stop Lena got up and looked around to see where her friend had ended up. A little way away Webby laid, face down, in the grass not moving a muscle. Lena's heart jumped.

"Webby!" She yelled, running over and kneeling down besides the immobile duck. Getting closer she realized that the younger duck seemed to be shaking and… sniffling. 

"Whoa whoa, hey now. There's no need for the whole teary stuff again. I'm fine, I promise." Lena said, gently rolling Webby over and lifting her up to a sitting position. Lena reached over and wiped the tears from Webby's eyes as she continued to shake. 

"See, all fine?" Lena said with a smile.

"But, it's not fine! How is any of this fine?! You… you almost died, or did die I'm not really sure which one, twice now! And now you're arm is completely exploded! How is any of this fine with you?" Webby yelled, looking at Lena with a hard stare.

Taken aback by the emotion in Webby's face, Lena paused.

"I… uh… I'm sorry, Webby, I don't know what to say." Lena sighed.

"Sorry?! Why are you sorry? I just… don’t understand. If you're not apologizing for your pain, you flippantly ignore it! Lena, your life sucks! Why are you just okay with it?" Webby shot at her, completely frustrated. 

The shock passed and Lena, despite being in pain, despite everything that happened that night and the night before, laughed.

It started as a chuckle before becoming a giggle and turning into a heartful laugh that had her on her back with joyful tears in her eyes. And despite herself and all her emotions, Webby laughed too. And there they stayed, laughing away at all the stress and emotions that had been threatening to consume them. 

Finally after a couple of minutes had passed and they both regained their breath Lena rolled over to face Webby.

"You want to know why I'm fine with all of this?" She asked, suddenly serious.

"It's because of you, Pink." She said, playfully poking Webby in the stomach.

"Before you, this," She gestured to the mangled bits of her arm. "Was the norm." She looked at her arm once more before grimacing. "Ok, maybe not the whole, bone sticking out thing, but still. Night after night it was the same thing. Go home, get punished for whatever I did wrong that day, go to sleep and hope I woke up to see the next day." 

"But then, you, and your bright colors, and annoying persistence to connect with me, and all of your weirdness and nerdness came into my life and suddenly it wasn't all doom and gloom. And… I didn't appreciate it in time. I didn't appreciate the fact that I started to look forward to seeing you bounce down the theater steps, with whatever adventure you had for the day in tow. Or how much I loved hearing you recount all your adventures. Or even how worried I got whenever you left for your next one. Not only because what could happen to you, but because it meant I would be alone again."

Lena looked down at the ground.

"And even though I don't deserve it. I'm here and you're still here with me. What's a broken mangled arm and a couple of death scares to that?" 

Webby waited patiently until Lena had looked up at her once again.

"I always knew deep down you were a total sap." She said mischievously.

"What? No! I was just trying to explain!" Lena shot back defensively.

"Regardless of your total cheesy heartfelt story there, that still doesn't mean you can keep getting hurt for my sake. You've done far enough of that."

"It's alright, I'm already regretting everything." Lena groaned, burying her beak into the ground.

"Up you get, we still need to treat that arm before it falls off." Webby replied, ignoring her friend's drama and reaching to help her up.

"Fiiiiine," Lena sighed, accepting the help. "But only if I get to walk this time." 

"But-"

"No but's, you tripped and nearly got us both hurt last time." Lena interrupted as she started walking up the hill towards the mansion.

"That's not fair! How was I supposed to know there was a branch there?" Webby said, running to catch up to her friend.

***

Back in the amphitheater, a shape formed from the shadows once again. Scowling, it kicked a nearby rock in frustration. Something wasn't right. How was the brat able to keep ahold of her magic even after she blew herself up?! It should've passed straight back to her. It must be the land she was on. Magic here was much less reliable then it was back in her homeland. Then an idea occurred to her. She grinned as she headed towards the distant harbor, barely kicking up any dust as she walked.

She didn’t need that brat's magic after all. That was only a fraction of the power she had once wielded.

She would have her revenge, and this time, she would do it right. Then Scrooge, that brat and her little pink friend would all pay.

All she needed was to prepare, and there was only one place she could get her powers back. 

_Magicka was going home._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh come now, I couldn't just post an updated chapter with just a more detailed ending of the previous one without giving you guys anything new. That would just be wrong. How else am I supposed to convince you guys I intend on finishing it properly this time? o.O
> 
> Even though... it is pretty short...
> 
> Well. Got to move the story along in some way. Guess this and the previous chapter should've been together. But it probably woud've taken away from the whole, Lena didn't die?! Drama. 
> 
> Anyways, guess Webby isn't ok with all this as she thought she was. And don't think that whole conversation is over either. Lena has a real problem with letting people in and actually caring about herself. I think as kids, or at least as young and sheltered as Webby is, she wouldn't be really able to understand just how broken Lena is after years of abuse. I also dont think Lena would be too keen on admitting to being broken either. To herself or Webby. But eventually all things will come to a head.
> 
> Also, yeah, I know I didn't really cover it all that well, but that flash really did a number on Lena's arm. That thing is plain nasty right now. 
> 
> Magic be dangerous yo. And they don't even know the half of it. But Magicka doeeessss~


	14. Chapter 13: Healing Wounds

It was very early morning when the two finally creaked their way back into McDuck Manor, and Webby, expert of stealth, carefully navigated her way through the empty quiet halls, peaking around corners and checking for even the tiniest of movement. 

Lena walked casually behind her, holding her arm and trying her best not to bleed on what was probably very expensive rugs and flooring. They eventually made it back to the kitchen, the only room Lena really recognized in the dark and turned on a couple of choice lights. Lena collapsed into one of the chairs left sitting out from this morning's breakfast and watched as Webby jumped up on counters and tables looking for something. Deciding that Webby probably knew what she was doing, Lena carefully peeled her hand off of her injured arm and really got a look at it. The first thing she noticed was the area around the wound and even some parts of the wound itself was glowing, making what should have been a really ghastly sight just look like ghostly make up. Feeling uncomfortable at the thought of more magic, Lena suddenly felt sick. 

That's when Webby found what she was looking for.

"Aha! I knew Gran always kept one of these in the important rooms of the house!" 

"And just what qualifies as an important room in a _mansion?_." Lena asked, under her breath, happy to distract herself from her arm as she got up to look at whatever Webby had found. It was a large medical kit about the size of Webby's entire torso. She hefted it up onto the nearby countertop as Lena made her way over. 

"Alright, we _should_ be getting Beakly and Scrooge up, and getting you to a doctor,"

"No thank you to both." Lena interjected quickly.

"But, I have always wanted to try one of these babies out." Webby continued, opening up the kit with wonder.

Inside there was a gigantic roll of gauze as well as a bunch of little tools and smaller bandages. Lena shivered. A lot of the cold metal instruments in the kit looked painful. Webby, however, knew exactly what she was looking for and fished out a reasonable amount of gauze as well as 2 small bottles of some sort of chemical that Lena couldn't get a good enough look at the labels to read. 

"Webby, have you ever actually patched up a wound like this?" Lena asked cautiously. 

"Nope! But I've read about it plenty of times, and gran has basically taught me all there is to know about first aid." Webby replied cheerfully, grabbing a few more items out of the box before closing it and setting it aside. 

"Uh huh. That's great…" Lena mumbled becoming more and more uncomfortable with the idea of fixing her arm by the second. 

"Alright, all set. Do you think you can stand scrubbing it under the sink?" Webby asked looking down at Lena's arm.

Lena grimaced. "Scrubbing probably not. I could run it under the water though, if you really need me to." she said as she looked down at the wound. The pain was getting worse by the second, and she dreaded the idea of even touching it, much less running water over it. 

"Can I?" Webby asked reaching for Lena's arm.

The older duck fought back her urge to run as she let Webby lift up her arm to finally take a good look at what she was dealing with. The first thing that struck her was the area around the wound, instead of bruising or redness it was just simply glowing blue. Webby chocked that up to magic being weird and tried to ignore the glow to concentrate on the wound itself. It didn't look dirty, but the blood and tattered flesh that she knew should've been there were shifting in and out of focus as if Lena's body still uncertain if it should be part magic shadow thing or part flesh and blood. Webby shook her head.

"Well it doesn't look dirty, but we should probably disinfect it just to be sure." She said, gently setting Lena's arm onto the countertop where she had set everything up. Lena just numbly nodded her head, trying to fight the panic rising in her throat. She didn't see any reason to be afraid, it was just Webby, but the feeling was still there. As she struggled to relax, Webby started to drip the disinfectant onto the wound. 

And Lena's heart nearly stopped. As soon as the first drop hit her arm it seared in agony. As if in slow motion, Lena's mind collapsed into the fear in her heart and she saw the wound begin to glow… but instead of it's normal blue hue,

_It was glowing an angry purple._

Just like Magicka. Just like the amulet in her nightmare. 

Lena couldn't remember if she screamed or yelled or managed to even make a sound, but she snatched her arm off the counter and clutched it close to her body, turning it and herself away from Webby. Afraid of what it might do… afraid of what she might do. When the world began to come back to her, Lena realized just how afraid she was. Unable to bring herself to run she instead just collapsed on the ground holding her arm tightly to her chest and letting the throbbing pain bring her breathing back to normal. 

Through the loud beating of her heart and blood that was rushing up to her head she heard a slight shuffling as Webby slid down and sat next to her. 

"Lena?"

"This was a bad idea Webby." Lena said, refusing to face the person behind the voice that seemed so timid.

"No, I should've warned you it would hurt. It's my fault." Webby said gently.

Her words struck something in Lena. "Your… fault?" She said, turning around to face the girl beside her.

"It's not your fault that I'm some sort of, freakish shadow monster thing! You saw what happened! My arm was about to blast you with magic, Magicka's magic! Just because I got a little jumpy. I still have part of her in me. I'm… I'm bad Webby. And… and one day it's going to be me hurting you, not Magicka, _me._ " Lena said, determined to talk some sense into her friend. 

Webby didn't even blink as she peeled Lena's good arm away from the wounded one. Grabbing it gently she turned the wound towards her and started to wrap it with the gauze she must've grabbed off of the table.

"You Lena, are not Magicka. You are just one scared, magical, idiot." She laughed gently as she sealed the wound completely with gauze. 

Lena looked down at her arm in shock. The gauze itself had hurt when she was putting it on, but nothing was glowing. She felt her heart rate slowing once again as she realized she was already starting to feel better.

After awhile, Lena looked up from her arm to see Webby who was beaming at her. "I figured there probably wasn't really a need to disinfect a magical wound." 

"Webby, why do you even trust me?" Lena asked, her face unchanging as she looked at her friend.

"What kind of question is that?" Webby said, the smile sliding away from her face.

"A valid one. I haven't given you a good reason to. I used you. I almost got you killed multiple times. I may not be Magicka, but I was around her for an awful long time. I don't want to be anything like her but,"

"But nothing." Webby interupted. "Brainiac here, remember? I may be clueless when it comes to a lot of things, mainly friends, but I know you. So what, you used me, and yeah it kinda stung thinking that the beginning of our friendship started out like that, but it's not like that now is it?"

Lena smiled. "Sentimental fool." She teased, poking Webby in the stomach.

"Scared idiot." Webby poked her back, also grinning.

Lena let the poke dramatically knock her over onto her back, letting out a huge sigh as she merged with the ground. Webby rolled onto her side and pushed herself onto her feet before leaning over Lena and offering a hand.

"Are you actually ready to go to sleep this time, or are you planning on sneaking out again?" She said with a sly grin. 

Lena grabbed her hand with her good arm and let herself be pulled up to her feet.

"Definitely ready for bed this time, almost dying does that to you I guess." She replied with a grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly, what the heck. You guys still read my weird duck musings?! Some of you even said you were rereading my weird duck musing's just before I updated?! You all are more of a mystery then I thought. Reading my stuff… weirdos. I don't even like half my stuff half the time. 
> 
> You guys absolutely rock and I love you for that.
> 
> So this part was harder to write then I expected. I had an idea, a long time ago of how exactly I wanted this scene to go but for some reason I could not find… well that version of Lena in my head. Instead it kept jumping around, and I started to realize that as much as this was supposed to be about Lena, I hadn't really given her much character. Or at least any my overly critical writing side could find. It's been action scene, backstory, action scene, backstory/worldbuilding and little bits of other characters but no… 'Dayum, that was some good character showing there.'
> 
> But this scene is important for character building and I knew that. So I settled for a couple of things. Firstly I wanted to have Lena be afraid of being hurt. Not of Webby herself hurting her but her basic instinct of 'literally if someone is touching me it's probably to hurt me'. Along with this idea that she is unconsciously rejecting this new life not even aware that she is still afraid of losing it all just because she messed up.
> 
> **TLDR; Polar is not good at character building scenes yet, panicked when she came across one.**
> 
> Also I realized part of the reason why I love Lena so much, she reminds me of another character I fricking adore and worship, Claudia from Warehouse 13. If you watched it you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. 
> 
> Short chapter for the win. Small steps. Part of me realizes I'm coming close to the end of what I had originally planned, but me being me, set up so many plot threads that I want to tie up, yet leave hanging, yet also tie up. Blegh. Hope this chapter doesn't come across as choppy as I felt it did coming out of the keyboard.

**Author's Note:**

> So maybe I can actually finish this one. I have the whole story planned out in my head and in there it's short and it's sweet and actually wraps up. Which is a lot different from the other story I tried to write, and from alot of my unfinished projects I've never posted or published. So just maybe I can actually finish this.


End file.
